Massive Minneapolis Fraud Halted by SEC; Masterminds Sentenced to a Combined 45 Years In Prison

Defendants Cook and Kiley, with the help of others, raised at least $194 million from at least 1,000 investors through the unregistered offer and sale of investments in a purported foreign currency trading venture. However, fully half of these investor funds was instead wrongly used, either to make payments to other investors, or diverted to defendants and their companies for personal use. Also, contrary to defendants’ representations, investments were not kept in segregated accounts, principal was not secure, and “guaranteed” returns in fact were not realized. Cook and Kiley received 25 and 20 year prison sentences, respectively.