The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Marc Henry Menard in the Eastern District of New York for allegedly defrauding more than fifty individuals, many from the Haitian-American community, of at least $1.65 million.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from about July 2021 to September 2023, Menard solicited investments by misrepresenting his past investment success, how he would use investors’ funds and the returns investors would receive. The complaint alleges that Menard told some investors that their funds would be used to trade stocks and options, and that Menard allegedly guaranteed interest payments of 10 to 20 percent per month.
As alleged in the complaint, Menard was not the successful investor he claimed to be, losing nearly $700,000 in trading securities, using mostly investor funds.
As the complaint further alleges, Menard embezzled a substantial amount of money from investors for his personal use by spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury vehicles, international travel, gifts, rent and other personal expenses, and to make payments to previous investors in a manner that looks like a Ponzi.
In addition, the complaint alleges, Menard diverted significant amounts of investor money to Laesha Jean-Louis, with whom he had a romantic relationship.
Finally, the complaint alleges that when Menard could no longer pay the promised interest to investors or repay the principal of their investments, Menard resorted to additional lies to conceal his scheme.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charges Menard with violating the anti-fraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), 206(2) and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder, and seeks permanent injunctive relief, dismissal plus prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and is prohibited from acting as an officer or director of any public corporation.
The complaint also names Jean-Louis as a defendant in relief and seeks disgorgement plus prejudgment interest.