The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that it has charged an Orlando, Fla., broker with defrauding investors using an investment strategy based on astrology.

In charges filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the SEC alleged that Gurudeo “Buddy” Persaud, through his firm White Elephant Trading Company LLC, lured investors into giving him $1 million for what he promised were safe investments that would return 6% to 18%.

Instead, SEC enforcers indicate that Mr. Persaud used a market-timing service that made forecasts based on lunar cycles and gravitational pull.

Apparently, the strategy was premised on the idea that gravitational forces affect mass human behavior and, in turn, the stock market, but this strategy was not communicated to investors.

The complaint further alleges Mr. Persaud misappropriated about $415,000 for his own use, and lost another $400,000 on the investment strategy.

Depending on when people invested with Mr. Persaud, investors may be able to recover their losses through FINRA arbitration.  According to his FINRA Broker Report, Mr. Persaud was registered with Money Concepts Capital Corp. from November 2003 through September 2010.  To the extent that Mr. Persaud was improperly handling client funds during the time period that he was employed by Money Concepts, Money Concepts may be liable for any damages (since Mr. Persaud was an agent of the firm during that time period).

To discuss whether you have a claim to recover your investment losses with Mr. Persaud, please call the securities attorneys of The White Law Group at 561/807-6804 for a free consultation.

The White Law Group is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration and investor protection law firm with offices in Boca Raton, Florida and Chicago, Illinois.  For more information on the firm, please visit https://whitesecuritieslaw.com.