SEC Fines David Ortiz for Allegedly Selling Unregistered Securities

David Ortiz (CRD #: 2775170), a previously registered broker with Aragon Financial Services, has been fined by the SEC for allegedly selling unregistered securities, according to his BrokerCheck Record accessed on November 3, 2021.  Keep reading for more information.

SEC Allegations

Both an SEC complaint and a civil suit allege that David Ortiz offered and sold unregistered securities of a merchant cash advance company to his advisory clients. 

It is a violation of the federal securities laws for a firm to offer or sell a security without an effective registration statement or an applicable exemption from the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act). David Ortiz’s alleged misconduct violates Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”).

The Case Against David Ortiz

On March 17, 2021, a civil suit filed against David Ortiz by the SEC alleges that between July 2017 and July 2018, David Ortiz served as an unregistered broker on behalf of 1 Global Capital, a South Florida merchant cash advance company. During that time, David Ortiz allegedly raised more than $6 million for 1 Global from offering and selling securities in unregistered transactions to at least 60 investors. David Ortiz reportedly earned at least $149,000 in commissions from those sales.

The complaint further alleges that 1 Global marketed its investment as a safe and secure alternative to the stock market and baselessly claimed that investing in the company’s merchant cash advance business would achieve high annual returns. Unbeknownst to David Ortiz’s clients, 1 Global and its chairman and chief executive officer Carl Ruderman allegedly misrepresented how they were using investor money, siphoning off millions in investor funds to fund Ruderman’s luxury lifestyle and operate unrelated businesses.  

According to the complaint, 1 Global’s business came to a crashing halt when it filed for bankruptcy in July 2018, leaving many of David Ortiz’s customers and thousands of other investors with hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. 

The SEC alleges that when David Ortiz offered and sold 1 Global’s securities he was not registered as a broker-dealer with the Commission or associated with a registered broker-dealer. Additionally, 1 Global allegedly did not register its securities offering with the Commission, and there was no applicable exemption from registration for this offering. 

SEC Sanctions

On August 5, 2021, David Ortiz was ordered to pay $149,986.00 in disgorgement, $16,216.00 in prejudgement interest on disgorgement, and a civil penalty of $30,000.00.

David Ortiz Background Information

David Ortiz has passed the following exams:

• Series 65 – Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination
• Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination
• Series 6 – Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Representative Examination

David Ortiz has worked with the following firm:  

• Aragon Financial Services (CRD#:16023)

Kurta Law Can Help 

If David Ortiz has victimized you, don’t hesitate to contact us today at 877-600-0098 or info@kurtalawfirm.com for a free consultation. 

For nearly 20 years, Kurta Law has advocated for investors to recover their investment losses from brokers and brokerage firms. Kurta Law is a nationally recognized law firm and exclusively represents investors against brokers and brokerage firms on a contingency basis. This means that the firm only earns a fee if our securities attorneys recover money on your behalf. Please contact us today if you would like us to evaluate your potential case.