Advisor Who Blew $2 Million on Bad Trades Charged With Fraud

Dang led the couple to believe he would invest most of their investment portfolio conservatively and would retain a minimum of $250,000 in cash in their accounts, the regulator said.

The complaint alleged that Dang misrepresented that the value of the client's positions were not reflected in the brokerage account statements.

Dang also allegedly misrepresented to the clients that he was associated with a registered broker-dealer, when, in fact, Dang's securities licenses had all lapsed and his last affiliation with any registered entity was in 2006, according to the SEC.

Dang was last registered through his association with Cetera Financial Group-owned Investors Capital Corp., between 2003 and 2006, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's BrokerCheck website. He did not tell the couple that he was no longer registered, according to the SEC.

As a result of his actions, Dang violated the antifraud provisions of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the SEC said.

The regulator is seeking a permanent injunction, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest and a civil penalty.