The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Empirex Capital LLC, a South Florida-based company, and its principal, Rafael Alberto Vargas Gonzalez (aka Rafael Vargas).。

SEC filed suit in the Southern District of Florida on September 21, 2023。

The SEC alleges that the defendants defrauded investors by selling unregistered securities involving investments in Empirex, in violation of the anti-fraud, securities registration and investment advisory provisions of the federal securities laws.。

According to the indictment, between July 2018 and March 2023, the defendants repeatedly raised at least $6.6 million from at least 162 investors in the United States and overseas through materially false statements and received compensation by making investment advice decisions for those investors.。

Misrepresentation relates to Vargas and Empirex's use of assets obtained from investors, the profitability of Empirex trading activities, the assets under Empirex management, Vargas and Empirex's qualifications to manage investor assets and their background, and the risks of investing in Empirex。

Through the defendant's fraud, Vargas misappropriated approximately $1.8 million, using funds obtained from investors to pay for various personal purposes, including the purchase of jewelry, housing, luxury car payments and cash.。

In addition, the defendants also misled investors about the profitability of their investments by paying and facilitating Ponzi-like scheme-like payments to investors in order to conceal the fact that Empirex failed to generate sufficient profits in transactions that used investors' assets for their so-called "traditional" investments, investments in crypto assets, or a combination of both.。And, faced with their heckling when investors were no longer receiving returns, Vargas repeatedly lied to them, saying he would return all the money owed to them.。

The defendant's actions violated the anti-fraud, securities registration and investment advisory provisions of the federal securities laws, respectively.。

The SEC alleges that the defendant violated sections 5 (a), 5 (c), and 17 (a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act of 1933") [15 U.S.C.§ § 77e (a), 77e (c), and 77q (a)]; section 10 (b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act of 1934") [15 U.S.C.§ 78j (a), 77e (c), and 77q (a)]。S.C.§ 78j (b)] and its rule 10b-5 [17 C.F.R.§ 240.10b-5]; and sections 206 (1) and 206 (2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act") [15 U.S.C.§ § 80b-6 (1) and 80b-6 (2)]。

The Commission requested permanent injunctions, injunctions based on specific acts and civil fines to be imposed on the accused, as well as for the accused to surrender their illegal gains and pay prepaid interest.。