SEC Wins Asset Freeze in Alleged Mortgage Restructuring Scheme
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won a court order to freeze the assets of a Texas man and his company, claiming he raised at least $35 million by falsely telling investors he was using their money to buy and restructure pools of non-performing home mortgages.
James G. Temme, who raised the money since 2008 through his firm Stewardship Fund LP, created false documents, made unauthorized financial transactions and used new customers’ funds to pay off earlier investors, the SEC said in an complaint unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Texas.
In several instances, Temme claimed to own mortgages he never acquired or purported to transfer the same pool of mortgages to multiple sets of investors, according to the SEC’s complaint. Temme has been the subject of at least one state court asset freeze and private lawsuits filed by different investor groups, the SEC said. Temme ignored the other asset freeze, and raised money from new investors to settle suits filed by earlier investors, according to the SEC.
“Temme took advantage of investors who believed their investments were helping homeowners restructure their mortgages,” David Woodcock, head of the SEC’s regional office in Fort Worth, Texas, said in a statement. “In many instances, it appears Temme was just pocketing the investments and using the proceeds for his own illicit purposes.”
John Helms Jr., Temme’s attorney, said he is reviewing the SEC’s filing, and that “the SEC did not give us any notice of the motion or the hearing, so we had no opportunity to participate whatsoever.”
The SEC is seeking unspecified financial penalties and disgorgement of ill-gotten profits.
To contact the reporter on this story: Joshua Gallu in Washington at jgallu@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lawrence Roberts at lroberts13@bloomberg.net
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