The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred a California advisor, saying he ran a $24 million Ponzi scheme against elderly and retired investors that purported to invest in an annuity and real estate.
From at least July 2000 through May 2020, Paul Horton Smith engaged in a Ponzi scheme that cost 100 of his elderly clients $13 million, according to the SEC's order, released Monday.
Smith pleaded guilty in January to a federal criminal charge for running the Ponzi scheme that, according to the Justice Department, lasted nearly 20 years and fraudulently obtained more than $24 million from at least 200 investors.
Smith, of Moreno Valley, California, also pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
According to his plea agreement, Smith operated Riverside-based companies named Northstar Communications LLC, Planning Services Inc., and eGate LLC. From July 2000 to May 2020, Smith obtained money from investors by soliciting individuals — who often were elderly or retired —to invest in something Smith called "Northstar."
Some of the investors previously were Planning Services clients.
