PHILADELPHIA – A federal agency alleges a Wayne resident engaged in fraudulent securities offering and investment advisory fraud.
Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint on Dec. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Paul W. Smith citing the Securities Exchanges Acts and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant raised approximately $2.35 million from 30 investors "by representing he would invest their money in publicly traded securities through The Haverford Group." The plaintiff alleges that it was not legitimate and "that he would not use all of their money to purchase securities on their behalf as promised, and instead would use most of their money to repay other investors and for his own personal use," the suit states.
The plaintiff holds Smith responsible because the defendant allegedly falsely represented to the investors that their investment would be placed in publicly traded securities.
The plaintiff seeks to enjoin the defendant, disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains plus interest, court costs and any further relief the court grants. It is represented by Jennifer Chun Barry and Norman P. Ostrove of Securities and Exchange Commission in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case number 2:17-cv-05480-GAM