Denver Ponzi-Scam Manager Bought Rembrandts, SEC Says
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U.S. regulators sued Denver-area investment manager Shawn Merriman and his firm, claiming he ran a 15-year Ponzi scheme and spent proceeds on classic cars, motor homes and artworks by Rembrandt van Rijn.
Merriman, 46, fraudulently raised as much as $20 million for a series of four investment funds at his Market Street Advisors, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a lawsuit at federal court in Denver. After his first fund suffered unreported losses around 1995, he opened new funds to raise money, continue paying clients and support a “lavish lifestyle,” the SEC said.