The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently charged a New Jersey man and two New Jersey-based companies he controls in connection with a Ponzi scheme.
The SEC’s complaint charges Ernest Ossei Boateng and his companies with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Boateng and Intercontinental with violating the antifraud provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Boateng acting through his two companies, Intercontinental Wealth Network LLC and I Wealth Network LP, solicited, recommended and sold interests in an alleged investment fund. Between at least January 2020 until at least March 2026, he allegedly raised approximately $16 million from more than 200 inexperienced investors mostly Christians of Ghanaian heritage in New York and New Jersey.
Boateng allegedly told investors their investments would generate guaranteed fixed returns and that the investment fund would pursue a low-risk investment strategy. Instead, he misappropriated more than $5.8 million for his personal expenses.
The complaint also alleges Boateng used approximately $6.6 million to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors and used investor money to engage in high-risk, speculative day trading that resulted in more than $750,000 in trading losses.