EquiAlt Faces SEC Lawsuit over Alleged Fraudulent Securities Offering

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uBiome founders face fraud charges

EquiAlt LLC, a private real estate firm based in Florida is facing a lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that it engaged in a fraudulent unregistered securities offering.

The SEC also included the real estate firm’s CEO Brian Davidson and Managing Director Barry Rybicki, and the entities they control as defendants.

The defendants violated the antifraud and securities registrations provisions as well as the aiding and abetting of the broker-dealer registration provisions of the federal securities laws, according to the Commission.

A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted the request of the SEC for emergency relief including an asset freeze and a temporary restraining order against the defendants.

The judge also issued an order requiring an accounting against EquiAlt, Davison, Rybicki and prohibiting them from destroying documents.

SEC alleges that EquiAlt defrauded over a thousand investors

In the lawsuit, the federal securities regulator alleged that EquiAlt defrauded at least 1,100 investors and raised more than $170 million from them. Many of the victims invested their retirement funds.