NEWARK, N.J. – A South Carolina investment fund manager was sentenced to 63 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain over $20 million from investors through misrepresentations about trading strategy and fund performance, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.
George Heckler, 65, of Charleston, South Carolina, previously pleaded guilty by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to an information charging him with one count of securities fraud.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Heckler managed, controlled or was involved with multiple investment funds, including Conestoga Partner Holdings (Conestoga), Cassatt Short Term Trading Fund LP (Cassatt), CV Special Opportunity Fund LP (CVSO), and TA1 LLC (TA1).
From 2014 to 2018, Heckler misrepresented to investors that he would invest their funds in particular trading strategies. Instead, he diverted their funds out of Cassatt and TA1 for purposes inconsistent with the trading strategies, including to pay out millions of dollars to other investors.
Heckler solicited investments from Victim-1, claiming the investments would be invested in Cassatt, which employed a “first loss” trading strategy intended to protect investors from losses. However, as of December 2013, Cassatt no longer had a brokerage account that was necessary to employ the represented trading strategy.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arloe sentenced Heckler to three years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $19.25 million.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a civil complaint against Heckler based on the allegations underlying the securities fraud charge.
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Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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