A federal judge ordered the assets of a recent University of Georgia graduate frozen amid accusations he allegedly ran a Ponzi scheme out of his fraternity house in Athens.
Syed Arham Arbab, 22, was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of defrauding at least eight people of at least $269,000 through an unregistered and allegedly fake hedge fund called Artis Proficio Capital.
The total number of investors and funds is likely more, and Arbab allegedly continued to raise money for the fund as recent as May 17 despite knowing about investigation, according to the SEC’s motion.
“We are working diligently with the SEC to resolve the issues between the SEC and Syed Arbab, and we will likely be able to do that,” said attorney Robert Loventhal, who is representing Arbab.
Richard Best, the SEC regional director of the Atlanta office, said Arbab capitalized on his affiliations with UGA and his fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, to run the fund.
“Unfortunately, it’s all too common for individuals to engage in this type of fraud,” Best said.
Best recommends all investors research where they’re investing their money and to whom.
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