CHARLOTTE — A federal agency is accusing a Charlotte man and his investment firm of running a Ponzi scheme.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Frank Mercado and his business, Tiger Wolf Capital, victimized more than 100 clients.
The SEC said the defendants sold consumers about $1.4 million worth of unregistered securities, but only deposited about a tenth of the money in the brokerage account.
The agency said the defendants falsely told clients they were getting more than a 50% return on their investment, but used new investors’ money to pay old investors instead.
The SEC also claims Mercado spent about $37,000 of clients’ money on personal expenses and created bogus account statements to make it look like they were making a profit.
Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke is working to reach out to Mercado for a response.
(WATCH BELOW: Pair who ran Ponzi scheme with Kings Mountain investment company sentenced)
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