Source: Fortune.com
Summary
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Andrew Spaventa and his companies, The Spaventa Group (TSG), TSG Capital Advisors, and TSG Alpha Partners, with fraud and violating securities and broker-dealer registration provisions. The SEC alleges that TSG’s sales agents made unsolicited calls to over 800 investors, promising no hidden fees, and sold them shares in private tech companies, including SpaceX, Anduril, Anthropic, and Perplexity, at markups of up to 91%. The investors paid an average of 46% more than TSG’s own companies paid for the shares. The SEC claims that Spaventa and his companies collected $23 million in undisclosed fees, with Spaventa making at least $4 million.
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The numbers tell one story.
Spaventa’s sales agents were allegedly coached to tell investors that there were no hidden fees, while the company collected markups of up to 91%. The agents were also told to use the term “referral fee” instead of “commission”. The SEC alleges that Spaventa backdated some of the fund equity transfer agreements after the inquiry began. The majority of investors have not recouped their investments in the funds. Spaventa has denied the allegations and plans to defend himself.
The playbook sounds familiar: unsolicited calls, high-pressure sales tactics, and hidden fees.
Author: Evan Null
