The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Justin Murphy, a former resident of Greenwich, Connecticut, and his investment management firm Mara Investments, LLC with fraudulently misappropriating approximately $3.4 million in investor assets.。

According to the SEC's allegations, Justin Murphy induced multiple people to invest about $6.6 million in Mara Investment Management LP, a private investment fund controlled by Mara Investments.。

Murphy told potential investors that he trades conservative stocks in the fund's brokerage account and continues to make a profit.。Contrary to his statements, Murphy ended up using almost all of the investor's money for unauthorized business and personal expenses and funding a company owned by a relative, the complaint said.。

The complaint also alleges that when the assets in the fund's brokerage accounts were depleted and profits could not be sustained, Murphy provided investors with falsified account statements and inaccurate tax documents to show that the transactions were profitable, thereby concealing and further exacerbating the fraud.。

The SEC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut alleging that Murphy and Mara Investments violated 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 its Rule 10b-5, and Sections 206 (1), 206 (2), and 206 (4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and its Rule 206 (4) -8。

SEC seeks permanent injunction, fines, prepaid interest and civil penalties against Murphy and Mara Investments。