Woodbridge Execs Arrested in $1.2B Ponzi Scheme

In a statement to the paper, Shapiro's attorney, Ryan O'Quinn, said Shapiro "denies the allegations in the indictment and will vigorously defend himself in the appropriate forum."

The SEC previously charged Woodbridge and Shapiro, and Woodbridge's highest-earning unregistered brokers. In January, a federal court in Florida ordered Woodbridge, related companies, and Shapiro together to pay $1 billion for operating this Ponzi scheme.

The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Acevedo oversaw Woodbridge's fundraising from 2012 until his departure in 2015, when he was succeeded by Roseman.

The defendants "were responsible for hiring and training Woodbridge's sales force, approved fraudulent marketing materials and sales scripts, and helped create the false appearance that Woodbridge was a legitimate operation when in reality it was a Ponzi scheme that used money from new investors to pay existing investors," the SEC complaint states.

The SEC's complaint charges Acevedo and Roseman with violating the securities registration, broker-dealer registration and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, and seeks disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains, with interest, and financial penalties.