Did Your Broker Recommend JMJ Capital Group?

Recently the Securities and Exchange Commission “SEC” filed a case styled SEC v. JMJ Capital Group and Richard Lee Ramirez. This is an SEC enforcement action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California on September 30, 2022.  JMJ Capital Group (“JMJ”) is a California corporation and Richard Lee Ramirez (“Ramirez”) is the owner and sole operator of JMJ residing in southern California. 

The SEC complaint alleges that JMJ and Ramirez defrauded up to 47 investors of at least $5.8 million in capital from a period spanning March 2019 through August 2021.  JMJ solicited investors through direct e-mail pitches, attaching “Funding Partner Agreements” that provided the imprimatur of lucrative investment options with demonstrated return outcomes.  The primary investment option JMJ offered investors was financing “invoice factoring.” 

Many of these investments were sold through current or former financial advisors. Recently former PFS investment broker Steven Kiyoto Hirata had a customer file a FINRA arbitration against himself and PFS for $1.4 million for losses allegedly stemming from JMJ capital investments.

If a broker was registered with a firm at the time of the sale that firm, such as PFS, could be liable for the whole amount since they are tasked with supervising all securities related activities of their brokers. This is commonly referred to as the practice of “selling away” where a broker sells an unapproved product away from the firm and the firms lackadaisical supervision missed the transaction resulting in harm to the customer.

 Invoice factoring was JMJ’s prime investment vehicle, the company began promoting other investment options that sought to capitalize on pandemic-impacted industries.  JMJ offered one investment option as financing contracts to rebuild air conditioning systems for Disney Cruise ships.  Another investment option was pitched as financing large purchases of personal protective equipment for possible returns of up to 30% in less than 90 days.  JMJ guaranteed investors that losses would only be possible in the event that goods associated with the investments were lost or destroyed in transit. 

According to the SEC complaint, JMJ engaged in almost no legitimate business practices related to investing in any of these business lines.  The SEC found less than $100,000 in revenue generated from the “invoice factoring” line, found one purchase of latex gloves for $2,100, and found zero income from the other purported investments.  In September 2019, Ramirez allegedly began using the millions acquired from late-joining investors to satisfy partial redemptions to some 33 earlier investors. 

Soreide Law represents clients nationwide in securities arbitrations and have handled dozens of selling away cases involving alleged Ponzi schemes. For a free consultation call 888-760-6552. There is no fee if there is no recovery. Too see if your broker was registered at the time you invested in JMJ Capital call Soreide Law today.