U.S. SEC Charges Two Private Funds Over Alleged False Claims on Pre-IPO OpenAI and SpaceX Exposure

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought actions against two private fund operations, alleging they solicited investors by pitching access to pre-IPO stakes in sought-after tech names such as OpenAI and SpaceX, while providing misleading information and diverting investor money. According to ME News, the SEC said Meyer Global Management and its principal, Owen Meyer, raised at least $18.5 million from nearly 100 investors purportedly to buy shares of pre-IPO companies. The regulator alleges at least $1.27 million was misappropriated, including spending on personal expenses, entertainment-related payments and other personal investments. The SEC also alleged that certain funds marketed as vehicles to invest in OpenAI and SpaceX did not, in fact, hold the represented assets. In a separate case, the SEC and federal prosecutors accused Christopher Dinelli and Jacob Frankel of Beyond Alpha Ventures of raising more than $8.7 million from 35 investors while falsely stating the fund held shares in companies including SpaceX and xAI. The SEC alleged the pair provided fabricated investment reports and used portions of the proceeds for options trading, film investments and personal uses. The SEC stressed that it has not found wrongdoing by the referenced technology companies or their management. Regulators have recently stepped up scrutiny of products marketed as pathways to acquire pre-IPO shares in high-demand private companies, bringing a series of enforcement actions against related private fund advisers. (Source: ChainCatcher)