Jose D. Rocha

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26365 / July 30, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jose D. Rocha, No. 1:23-cv-11779 (D. Mass. filed Aug. 3, 2023)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Defendant Charged with Offering Fraud and Ponzi Scheme

On July 29, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against Jose D. Rocha, whom the SEC previously charged with running a Ponzi scheme in which he took over $1 million from 13 investors in the Cape Verdean community around the Boston area.

The SEC's complaint was filed in August 2023 and charged Rocha with having promised investors he would invest their money in securities with guaranteed returns of 12% per month. Instead, the complaint alleged, Rocha used only a small percentage of the money to make highly leveraged, and highly unsuccessful, trades of stock and stock options. Rocha allegedly spent the balance of the funds, the vast majority, to feed his gambling habit and embark on a luxury lifestyle. According to the complaint, Rocha also used money from later investments to pay out on earlier investments.

Rocha consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violations of the antifraud provisions of 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 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In addition, Rocha consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from participating in the offer or sale of any security to investors or potential investors.

The SEC's litigation was conducted by Alfred Day, Jeffrey Cook, Patrick Noone, and Celia Moore of the SEC's Boston Regional Office.