The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an emergency action including a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze to stop an alleged offering fraud and misappropriation of investor assets orchestrated by the founders and principal executives of Reven Holdings, Inc., Peter B. Lange, Michael A. Volk, and Brian D. Denomme.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in federal court in the District of Colorado and unsealed today, since approximately January 2019, Reven, which does business as Reven Pharmaceuticals, raised at least $44 million from approximately 175 investors, purportedly to develop a drug called Rejuveinix. The complaint alleges that Lange, Volk, and Denomme collectively misappropriated at least $8.8 million by using investor funds to pay for personal expenses such as real estate, mortgage payments, personal credit card payments, expensive jewelry, personal travel, and high-end cars. The complaint alleges that Lange, Volk, and Denomme took investor money through a variety of means, including by funneling those funds through a shell company that they controlled.

The SEC's complaint charges the defendants 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 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest, and civil monetary penalties.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Kimberly Greer, Kenneth Stalzer, and Donna Walker, and supervised by Ian Karpel and Jason Burt. The SEC's litigation is being handled by Sharan Lieberman and Kenneth Stalzer, and supervised by Gregory Kasper.