PHOENIX — A Scottsdale man has been fined more than $240,000 for investment fraud from late 2018 to early 2023, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) announced on Nov. 19.
John A. Perez allegedly “fraudulently (engaged) in unlicensed advisory services” from November 2018 to February 2023 and has been ordered to pay $174,087 in restitution fees and another $71,000 in administrative penalties.
Details on Scottsdale man’s fraudulent investment services
According to the ACC, Perez posed as “a wealthy retired investment adviser and stockbroker” and claimed that he could teach investors “how to significantly increase their investments.”
Perez promised gains based off of his “carpool investment account” and sent investors screenshots of the account to convince them he had managed their money. However, the ACC found this touted account showed “little to no activity” in reality.
Over the four-plus-year period, Perez allegedly met with at least eight individuals or groups across Arizona for fee-based “training sessions.” ACC case documents state that these sessions ranged in cost from $2,500 to $20,000.
Some of the investors involved in the fraudulent scheme claimed Perez “accessed, traded and fully managed their TD Ameritrade accounts,” the ACC said.
Besides falsely representing himself as an investment advisor, Perez allegedly didn’t disclose a pair of past criminal convictions for property theft.
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