The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against a South Carolina businessman for series of fraudulent bond offerings to purchase and renovate assisted living and memory care facilities in Georgia and Alabama.
Dwayne Edwards is accused of siphoning funds he raised from investors for the purpose of purchasing or renovating senior housing facilities.
The SEC alleges in its order that Edwards improperly commingled money from several different municipal bond offerings and the revenues of the facilities underlying the offerings – with Edwards improperly commingling at least $3.9 million of the nearly $62 million raised through nine separate conduit municipal bond offerings.
The offerings were each supposed to finance a particular assisted living or memory care facility in Georgia or Alabama, the SEC states. "From the commingled funds, Edwards allegedly diverted investor money for personal use as well as to finance other unrelated bond offerings."
