National investor fraud law firm is investigating SwapStar Capital in light of the SEC and Commodity and Futures Trading Commission’s actions filed against the firm and Swapnil Rege in October 2020.
On October 26, 2021, the SEC charged a New Jersey-based individual with stealing money from investment advisory clients, and doing so while he was subject to a prior SEC order barring him from being in the investment advisory business.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that that Swapnil J. Rege and his company SwapStar Capital, LLC solicited Rege’s friends, neighbors, and other referrals to be the defendants’ investment advisory clients. Rege and SwapStar allegedly misrepresented to their clients that client money would be invested in securities for guaranteed returns. Rege and SwapStar allegedly used client money to pay fictitious gains to other clients, to return original investment amounts to other clients, and to pay for some of Rege’s personal expenses.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a related action against SwapStar Capital and Swapnil Rege in October 2020. According to the complaint, Swapstar Capital and Mr. Rege fraudulently solicited individuals to lend or invest money based on material misrepresentations, including that such funds would be invested in securities, that lenders and investors would receive a fixed monthly, quarterly, or annual return, in some cases as high as 40% to 60%, and that lenders and investors could redeem their funds immediately or on short notice.
The CFTC Complaint further alleges that SwapStar Capital and Mr. Rege then used a portion of the solicited funds to actively trade commodity interests through accounts the defendants owned, or accounts that were nominally owned by Rege’s spouse but controlled by Rege. The complaint also alleges that the defendants misappropriated some of the solicited funds for their personal benefit, including to pay for personal expenses and to pay returns to other account holders in a manner akin to a Ponzi scheme.
In addition, the complaint alleges that Rege failed to disclose that he was barred for at least three years from trading any commodity interests under the 2019 consent order.
According to FINRA BrokerCheck, Mrs. Rege was previously registered as a broker for the following firms:
Mrs. Rege obtained her Series 63 and Series 7 in August 2004, and her SIE in November 2014.
According to FINRA BrokerCheck, Mrs. Rege worked as a senior portfolio manager for Marinus Capital in South Darien, CT from March 2015 to May 2017.
Her BrokerCheck also states that Mrs. Rege’s current employment includes SRO Capital as senior portfolio manager in Iselin, NJ from August 2018 to Present. Her BrokerCheck states that she “manages a sleeve of assets within a private investment fund sponsored by an affiliate of SRO Capital.”
Mrs. Rege’s BrokerCheck also includes Swapstar Capital LLC as Principal/CCO in North Brunswick, NJ from January 2019 to Present.
In July 2019, the SEC filed a cease and desist order against Swapnil Rege relating to her alleged mispricing of investments for a private fund for which he served as investment manager, resulting in artificially inflated fund profits, an overstatement of the fund’s monthly net asset value in periodic statements to fund investors, and the charging of excess management fees to the fund.
The mispricing allegedly resulted in Rege receiving $600,000 in excess compensation from his employer, which was the adviser to the fund. Rege was barred from associating with any investment adviser, broker, dealer, and other financial services positions resulting from the SEC action.
KlaymanToskes is a leading national securities law firm which practices exclusively in the field of securities arbitration on behalf of retail and institutional investors throughout the world in large and complex securities matters. KlaymanToskes has recovered more than $220 million for investors in FINRA arbitrations. KlaymanToskes has office locations in California, Florida, New York, and Puerto Rico.
KlaymanToskes
Lawrence L. Klayman, Esq.
(561) 542-5131
lklayman@klaymantoskes.com
www.klaymantoskes.com