Jonathan Webb
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26267 / March 14, 2025
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jonathan Webb, No. 1:25-cv-10604 (D. Mass. filed Mar. 14, 2025)
SEC Files Settled Fraud Charges against Massachusetts Resident
On March 13, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Tewksbury, Massachusetts resident Jonathan Webb for defrauding investors in a securities offering that included low-income cemetery employees. Webb has agreed to settle the case and to pay almost $400,000 in monetary relief.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least January 2021 to August 2023, Webb solicited and accepted approximately $1.7 million from at least 34 people for investment purposes. As alleged, Webb falsely told investors he could double their money within a year by pooling it and investing in the foreign currency exchange market (Forex) and he guaranteed the return of the capital and any interest earned. For investors who did not have tens of thousands of dollars to invest, the complaint alleges, Webb helped secure personal loans that enabled them to invest with him. According to the complaint, Webb converted investor funds to crypto assets and transferred the converted funds to overseas brokerage firms that permitted Webb to invest in Forex using up to 500:1 leverage and an algorithmic trading program Webb purchased on the internet. The SEC complaint further alleges that Webb lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in investor funds using the trading program. Despite these losses, Webb allegedly continued to solicit and accept investor funds, falsely guaranteeing the return of capital and promising exorbitant potential returns. By August 2023, the complaint alleges, Webb had lost most of the investor funds he had received by investing in Forex. In addition, according to the SEC complaint, Webb used investor funds to pay back some earlier investors and misappropriated funds for personal expenses.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, charges Webb with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Webb has consented to a permanent injunction from violating those provisions, a conduct-based injunction, disgorgement of $250,753 plus prejudgment interest of $29,391, and a civil monetary penalty of $118,225. The settlement is subject to court approval.
The SEC’s investigation was handled by Kerry Dakin, Jeffrey Olshan, Mark Albers, and Celia D. Moore of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office.