Paul Moore IV, Securities Fraud, California 2015

San Diego, California — Paul Moore IV, a 51-year-old San Diego resident, pleaded guilty to defrauding local investors through his purported hedge fund, Coast Capital Management LLC.

According to his plea agreement, Moore admitted to falsely telling investors he was an experienced financial professional and investment adviser, and that his “hedge fund” traded investors’ money in the stock market on their behalf.

However, in reality, Moore had no relevant education or experience, and was actually stealing most of the investors’ money in the course of running a Ponzi scheme.

Moore established Coast Capital Management LLC in 2009, when he began soliciting friends and acquaintances to invest in this “hedge fund.”

Moore told investors that he had earned an undergraduate degree in economics from a respected state university, had worked as a senior analyst at a large, national securities firm, had registered himself and his firm with securities regulators, and was making tremendous profits for his clients through his knowledge and expertise in securities trading.

However, in truth, Moore quit college without earning any credits toward a degree, had never worked for the securities firm he touted, did not register himself or his fund with regulators, and when he did trade a small portion of the investor funds entrusted to him, he was losing money.

Moore stole most of clients’ funds in the course of perpetrating a Ponzi scheme. Of the $2.8 million he “managed” for investors, Moore used $1.7 million of it for personal travel, shopping sprees, meals, entertainment, and other expenses.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant on October 5, 2015 at 9:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy warned investors to perform their own due diligence before turning money over to an investment advisor, and to be wary of performance figures that seem “too good to be true.”

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