In May 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it obtained a court order halting an ongoing $30 million Ponzi scheme that targeted more than 300 investors in the U.S. and Canada.
The south Florida-based Argyle Coin, LLC, was a purported cryptocurrency business, and its principal Jose Angel Aman is alleged to use investor funds to run a Ponzi scheme. The SEC issued a temporary restraining order and temporary asset freeze against Aman, Argyle Coin and other companies charged by the SEC as relief defendants.
According to the SEC’s complaint, “As alleged, this fraud is a continuation of a scheme Aman orchestrated with two other companies he owns, Natural Diamonds Investment Co. (Natural Diamonds) and Eagle Financial Diamond Group Inc (Eagle). According to the complaint, Aman engaged in unregistered offerings of securities in Natural Diamonds and Eagle as early as May 2014, falsely promising investors that the companies would invest in whole diamonds to cut down and sell for huge profits. Aman was assisted by Harold Seigel and Jonathan H. Seigel, who also have interests in Natural Diamonds and Eagle. According to the complaint, in October 2017, Aman and Jonathan H. Seigel continued the scheme by luring investors to invest in Argyle Coin, falsely claiming the investment was risk-free because it was backed by fancy colored diamonds, and promising to use investor funds to develop the cryptocurrency business. Instead, according to the complaint, Aman, Natural Diamonds, Eagle, and Argyle Coin, misused or misappropriated more than $10 million of investor funds to pay other investors their purported returns and for Aman’s personal expenses, including rent on his home, purchases of horses, and riding lessons for his son.”
“The SEC’s complaint charges Natural Diamonds, Eagle, Argyle Coin, Aman, Harold Seigel and Jonathan H. Seigel with violations of the securities registration provisions and also charges Natural Diamonds, Eagle, Argyle Coin and Aman with violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC’s complaint seeks disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest from Natural Diamonds, Eagle, Argyle Coin, Aman, Harold Seigel, and the relief defendants, and financial penalties against Natural Diamonds, Eagle, Argyle Coin, Aman, Harold Seigel and Jonathan H. Seigel,” according to the claim.
Siegel (CRD# 1771891) has been registered with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated in New York, New York since 2007. Siegel has two settled customer complaints on his CRD from 1999 and 2006.
Erez Law represents investors in the United States for claims against brokers and brokerage firms for wrongdoing. If and have experienced investment losses, please call us at 888-840-1571 or complete our contact form for a free consultation. Erez Law is a nationally recognized law firm representing individuals, trusts, corporations and institutions in claims against brokerage firms, banks and insurance companies on a contingency fee basis.
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