SEC Charges Advisor for Defrauding Nearly a Dozen Clients

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged an investment adviser with defrauding investors and other advisory clients out of nearly half a million dollars.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that, from at least January 2014 through September 2019, Ryan R. Riley, of Leesburg, Virginia, solicited advisory clients and other individuals to invest in securities issued by his companies, Green Light Energy LLC and Mustang Resources Inc.

According to the complaint, Riley induced investors to invest by claiming that he would use their funds to acquire, develop and operate oil and gas drilling projects in Texas. The SEC alleges that Riley misappropriated the funds, using some for personal expenses and losing the majority through risky day trading. The SEC reports that he obtained over $480,000 from about a dozen individuals, including his advisory clients and other investors.

Riley has consented to the entry of a judgment against him which, if approved by the federal court, would permanently enjoin him from violating the charged provisions and bar him from acting as an officer or director of a public company, with disgorgement and civil penalties to be decided later by the court.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also announced criminal charges against Riley.

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