The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Christopher Dougherty and his firm C&D Wealth Management, of the San Diego area, with running a Ponzi scheme which defrauded investment advisory clients out of $7 million.

According to the SEC Complaint, Dougherty offered fifty clients – most of whom were unsophisticated investors – the opportunity to invest in tax-free “private placements” that he touted as having quarterly dividends of 5%.

Instead, according to the SEC allegations, there were no private placements and Dougherty was using new investor money to pay dividends to existing investors while also spending the money on his personal expenses, in classic Ponzi-scheme fashion. Dougherty is also alleged to have offered investors the opportunity to invest in his personal farm and real estate business while appropriating those “investment” proceeds into the Ponzi scheme as well.

At the Frankowski Firm, we have experience handling claims on behalf of investors who have lost money as a result of a Ponzi scheme and other manipulative investment practices. If you or someone you know has lost money or was a victim of Christopher Dougherty, C&D Wealth Management, or otherwise sold an investment which was misrepresented to you or unsuitable for you, please call the Frankowski Firm at 888.741.7503 or fill out this contact form.