The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a New York-based company and its founder for misappropriating more than $1 million from a client and prospective client and defrauding investors, as well as for submitting false information on SEC filings.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleges that Jeffrey Slothower, through his entity Battery Private, Inc., engaged in two separate fraudulent schemes. In the first alleged scheme, Slothower misappropriated more than $1 million from an advisory client and her spouse, a prospective client. In the second alleged scheme, Slothower made material misrepresentations in connection with private sales of a penny stock owned by Battery Private. The SEC's complaint further alleges that Slothower exaggerated the size of Battery Private's regulatory assets under management in SEC filings.

The SEC's complaint charges Battery Private and Slothower with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), 206(2) and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and also charges Battery Private with violating, and Slothower with aiding and abetting Battery Private's violations of, Section 203A of the Advisers Act. The complaint seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and permanent injunctive relief, among other remedies.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Elizabeth Goody, Alison Conn, Roseann Daniello and Judith Weinstock, and the litigation will be led by David P. Stoelting, Ms. Conn, and Ms. Goody of the New York Regional Office. The case is being supervised by Lara Shalov Mehraban.