According to the US Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts’ press release, Jose D Rocha, 38, of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, was sentenced by the US District Court Judge to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. The Court also entered an order of forfeiture for $774,737. In September of 2023, Jose Rocha pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud.
The press release goes on to say that between 2020 and 2022, Jose D Rocha solicited investments from individuals in Massachusetts. Rocha portrayed himself as a successful investor in publicly traded securities, including stocks and stock options, and promised to manage investors’ funds in exchange for a share of the returns.
The US Attorney’s Office reported that Jose Rocha obtained over $1.2 million in investment funds from his victims. Rocha then used a portion of those funds to pay purported investment returns to other investors and misappropriated funds for himself, including to pay for vacations and gambling at casinos.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint against Jose D Rocha in August of 2023 alleging violations of the securities laws. In addition to the guilty plea in this case, Rocha entered into a Consent Judgment with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
From an SEC litigation release in August of 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against Jose D Rocha for running a Ponzi scheme in which he took approximately $1.2 million from 13 investors in the Cape Verdean community around the Boston area. The SEC alleged Jose D Rocha promised investors he would invest their money in securities with guaranteed returns of 12% per month. According to the litigation release, Rocha used only a small percentage of the money to make highly leveraged, and highly unsuccessful, trades of stock and stock options. The SEC claimed that Rocha spent the balance of the funds for his gambling habit and a luxury lifestyle. Rocha also used money from later investments to pay out on earlier investments.-
If you or a loved one have suffered financial losses due to the actions or recommendations of Jose D Rocha of Massachusetts, contact Soreide Law Group and speak to an experienced securities lawyer at no cost regarding the possible recovery of your investment losses through a FINRA arbitration at: 888-760-6552.
Soreide Law Group represents clients nationally before FINRA on a contingency fee basis.