Faith Based Fraud Scheme that Defrauds Elderly Investors

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“Our laws do not tolerate materially misleading statements to exploit vulnerable investors who, in this case, looked up to a prominent pastor,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. “Caldwell took advantage of his victims, encouraging them to remain faithful even as he and Smith broke that faith . . .”

Caldwell and Smith violated the registration and antifraud provisions of several federal securities laws. The SEC encourages investors to check the backgrounds of people selling investments by using the SEC’s Investor.gov website to quickly identify whether they are registered professionals and confirm their identity.