Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed an emergency action in the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina charging Wynn Charlebois, a self-proclaimed business consultant and resident of Charlotte, North Carolina, and his company WC Private LLC with operating a $7 million Ponzi scheme.

According to the SEC's complaint, since 2019, Charlebois has defrauded at least 75 investors, mostly residents of the Charlotte area, using multiple bogus investment opportunities. Most recently, through WC Private, Charlebois offered investors opportunities to share in the profits earned by participating in the exercise of fictitious options contracts. In reality, Charlebois used investor funds to pay his family's debts and personal expenses, including his mortgage payments, vacations, and private school education for his children.

The complaint charges Charlebois and WC Private with violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC seeks preliminary and permanent injunctive relief, an asset freeze, an accounting, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.

The SEC's ongoing investigation is being conducted by Melissa Mitchell and Krysta Cannon, and supervised by Matthew McNamara and Justin Jeffries. The SEC's litigation will be led by Robert Schroeder.