On September 30, 2021, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against Steven Pagartanis, an East Setauket, New York resident whom the SEC alleged defrauded investors.

The SEC's complaint, filed May 30, 2018, alleged that while working as an investment professional, Pagartanis defrauded retail investors by selling investments using false and misleading statements and misappropriating the proceeds to pay personal expenses and make payments to his investors in a Ponzi scheme-like manner.

Pagartanis consented to the final judgment, which permanently enjoins him from violating 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. The judgment also orders him to pay disgorgement of $6,519,594, which is deemed satisfied by a restitution order in a parallel criminal action.

In the parallel criminal action, Pagartanis pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and on January 14, 2020, he was sentenced to 170 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution of $6,519,594.

On February 17, 2021, the SEC barred Pagartanis from associating with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, as well as participating in the offering of a penny stock.

The SEC's litigation was conducted by Sheldon Mui and was supervised by Lara S. Mehraban and Gerald A. Gross. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.