The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Alan Burak, founder of Never Alone Capital LLC, with orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that raised approximately $4 million, most of which Burak misappropriated for personal expenses.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that, between 2018 and 2023, Burak engaged in a fraudulent scheme to recruit investors in his so-called investment fund, Never Alone Capital LLC, by falsely representing himself as a wealthy hedge fund owner, telling investors that Never Alone was an investment fund, and claiming that investor money would be invested in “Wall Street” pursuant to a complex investment strategy, in some cases with a guaranteed return. Burak allegedly raised approximately $4 million from at least 17 investors, several of whom he met through a company that provides financial education programs in Spanish to the Latino community. However, as alleged in the complaint, Burak did not invest the money as he represented that he would. In fact, as alleged, Burak misappropriated the bulk of investor deposits, including to pay credit card charges for, among other things, luxury skin care and payments to an adult-only subscription service. Burak also allegedly sent investors false account statements that generally showed consistently positive returns, when in fact investors were consistently losing money. Burak eventually stopped responding to investors and, in an audio recording from July 2022, he stated, among other things, that he was fake, he did not have a real business, and he was stealing money from people.
“As our complaint alleges, Burak convinced investors to trust him by lying about his investment expertise and strategies and then stole their money,” said Samuel Waldon, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “We remain committed to identifying and holding accountable those who prey on innocent investors, and encourage those who suspect they are victims of fraud to report it to the SEC.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Burak with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains together with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties, as well as conduct-based injunctions.
In a parallel action, the New York County District Attorney’s Office today filed criminal charges against Burak.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Bari R. Nadworny, Thomas Feretic, and Lindsay S. Moilanen under the supervision of Tejal D. Shah of the New York Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Sushila Rao Pentapati and Ms. Nadworny under the supervision of Preethi Krishnamurthy.
If you think you could be the victim of a fraud, please submit a tip or complaint to the SEC.
