Legal
‘Bogus Offer’ for Virgin Orbit by Investor Triggers SEC Suit
- SEC claimed Matthew Brown made false statements about funding
- Brown made headlines when he appeared on CNBC to tout deal
A Virgin Orbit Holdings aircraft at Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay, UK in 2022.
Photographer: James Beck/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sued a self-proclaimed venture capitalist for making a “bogus offer” of $200 million to acquire Richard Branson’s now-defunct Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc.
Matthew Brown “made false and misleading statements and omissions about his investment experience and funds available to make such an offer,” the SEC said in the lawsuit filed Monday in a federal court in Texas. The regulator claimed Brown sent Virgin Orbit a fabricated screenshot of his company’s bank account, claiming it held $182 million when in reality it had a balance of less than $1.