The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on January 18, 2013, in a criminal action brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, the Honorable James B. Zagel, U.S. District Judge of the Northern District of Illinois, sentenced Randy M. Cho to 12 years in federal prison on charges of wire fraud and tax fraud. Cho was charged for perpetrating an investment scheme between 2001 and October 2009, which resulted in almost $8 million in losses from 57 investors. Cho was also ordered to pay restitution of $7,995,707. Cho’s sentence was lengthened, in part, because Cho lied to the SEC during its investigation into his scheme. [USA v. Randy M. Cho, Case No. 1:10 cr 01099, USDC, N.D. Ill.]
In October 2009, the SEC filed an emergency district court action against Cho for his fraudulent scheme, and obtained orders that froze Cho’s assets and permanently enjoined Cho from violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. In August 2010, the SEC obtained a final judgment against Cho in which Cho was ordered to pay approximately $7.78 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a $150,000 statutory civil penalty.
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