Former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and other professional athletes were victimized in a Ponzi-like scheme orchestrated by the same investment adviser, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
Sanchez, along with Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt, were defrauded out of about $30 million, according to a recently unsealed lawsuit in Dallas federal court. The athletes all used the same broker, Ash Narayan, formerly of RGT Capital Management. The adviser appealed to the athletes’ Christian faith and interest in charitable work, the SEC said.
Narayan concealed multiple conflicts of interest from investors, the SEC said in its lawsuit against him. He directed the athletes’ cash to The Ticket Reserve Inc., which allows fans to reserve face-value tickets to sporting events where the teams have yet to be determined, the SEC said. He was on the company’s board of directors, owned more than 3 million shares and was its primary fundraiser — raising more than 90 percent of the company’s investment capital, the agency said.
(c) 2016, Bloomberg ยท Matt Robinson
