Akshay Kamboj and Dev Kamboj

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26134 / September 27, 2024

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Akshay Kamboj and Dev Kamboj, No. (SDNY filed September 27, 2024)

SEC Charges Fund Principals With Pitching Fund Investors Using A Fake Performance History

The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against brothers Akshay and Dev Kamboj, principals of the Crawford Ventures Absolute Return Fund (the "Fund"), with defrauding investors by using offering materials that fraudulently presented their trading track record. The Fund raised more than $16 million from investors in 2022 and 2023.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the Fund told prospective investors that it would engage in currency trading using a successful strategy previously employed by Akshay and Dev Kamboj for other clients prior to the Fund's formation. As alleged in the complaint, the Kamboj brothers provided proof of the purported success of the strategy, including an "Audit Report" and a "Performance Audit" purportedly issued by an Australian audit and consulting firm. In reality, according to the complaint, the auditor had never performed an audit for the Kamboj brothers, and the Audit Report and the Performance Audit, which were furnished to a number of prospective investors, was fake. The complaint further alleges that the Kamboj brothers created a fictitious email address to impersonate the auditor in communications with potential investors.

The SEC's complaint charges Akshay and Dev Kamboj with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest thereon, and civil penalties.

The SEC is simultaneously bringing settled administrative charges against Evan H. Katz, a third principal of the Fund, for his misleading communications to prospective investors in the Fund.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Nicholas Flath, Rhonda L. Jung, Melissa Coppola, Ling Yu, Alistaire Bambach and Adam S. Grace, under the supervision of Sheldon L. Pollock, and the litigation will be led by Travis Hill, Mr. Flath and Ms. Jung, all of the New York Regional Office. An SEC examination was conducted by Allison Erlenwein, Merryl Hoffman, John Bulla, and George DeAngelis.

The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Seychelles Financial Services Authority, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.