Leena Jaitley

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26212 / January 7, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Leena Jaitley, doing business as Managed Options Trading and Options by Pros, No. 1:21-cv-00832 (W.D. Tex. filed Sept. 20, 2021)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Former Austin, Texas Resident Who Defrauded Investors With Two Websites

On December 12, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas entered a final judgment against Leena Jaitley, formerly of Austin, Texas.

The SEC’s complaint, filed on September 20, 2021, charged Jaitley with operating two fraudulent websites, Managed Options Trading and Options by Pros, and offering to trade options on behalf of investors. To recruit clients, Jaitley falsely claimed that the websites employed experienced traders in New York who used a proprietary trading methodology with a history of success. In reality, Jaitley acted alone from Austin, Texas or with the assistance of her father. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Jaitley’s misrepresentations led to at least fifteen individuals losing more than $800,000 in principal. On January 3, 2024, the court granted the SEC’s motion for summary judgment against Jaitley finding that she violated multiple antifraud provisions of the securities laws.

On December 12, 2024, the court entered a final judgment permanently enjoining Jaitley from 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, and Sections 206(1) and (2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The court also ordered Jaitley to disgorge $672,833 in ill-gotten gains plus $158,835 in prejudgment interest and pay a civil penalty of $672,833.

The SEC’s litigation was led by Charlie Divine and Zachary A. Avallone with the assistance of Donato Furlano and Peter Rosario and supervised by James Connor and Christopher Bruckmann. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Christian Ascunce and Greg Hillson.