The SEC charged a Connecticut man with fraud for misleading people, several of whom were women he met through an online dating website, into investing over $2.3 million in his company and then taking their money for his own personal use.
The SEC determined that the man spent little money on research, development and testing that would be needed to develop the purported technology for the company's supposed development, patent, and commercialization of a cut and puncture resistant surgical glove. The SEC stated that he instead spent the majority of it on his own salary and personal expenses. The SEC stated that he also made material misstatements and omitted crucial information about the company and its prospects when soliciting new investments. Specifically, he misrepresented that a lucrative deal to license or sell the company's unproven technology was imminent, when in fact there was no such deal under negotiation.
The SEC noted that there were approximately 55 investors in the company, including six women the man met through an online dating service and 14 others who are family or friends of those women.
Commentary
It would be interesting to know whether he also lied about his age or height. See The Big Lies People Tell In Online Dating.
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