FraudWise Project Works to Protect Targeted Communities

The New York Regional Office has launched FraudWise, a program to help educate communities in New York and New Jersey that are or could be targets of a community-based investment fraud known as affinity fraud.

At its core, affinity fraud exploits the trust and friendship that exists in groups of people with something in common. Fraudsters who carry out affinity fraud scams frequently are (or pretend to be) members of the group they are trying to defraud.

The FraudWise project will identify and educate these communities by going into neighborhoods to reach people where they live and give them the tools they need to protect themselves from future affinity fraud scams.

Examples of Enforcement Actions

• SEC Charges Former New Jersey-Based Corrections Officer With Crypto Fraud Scheme Targeting Law Enforcement Personnel

• SEC Charges Former Army Financial Counselor Who Defrauded Gold Star Family Members

• SEC Charges Red Rock Secured and Three Executives in Fraud Scheme Targeting Retirement Accounts

• SEC Charges Ruless Pierre for Running a Community-Based Ponzi Scheme Targeting the Haitian Community
   

Contact

To learn more about this initiative or request an educational presentation to a group or organization, please contact the New York Regional Office at fraudwise@sec.gov.