ATHLETE'S FORTUNE FLEW AWAY! Day Trader Botched $1.3M Scheme!

SEC v. Ian G. Bell — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26189, dated December 10, 2024.

The SEC charged Ian G. Bell with securities fraud for defrauding at least 29 investors, including professional athletes, out of over $1.3 million. Bell allegedly lied about his trading performance, misappropriated investor funds for personal use, and lost nearly all the invested money.

In Plain English

Imagine you give your friend money to invest for you. Your friend promises big returns and shows you fake pictures of success. But instead of investing, your friend loses almost all your money and spends some of it on themselves. That's what happened here, but with a lot more people and money involved.

Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.

How the Alleged Scheme Worked

1. Raising Funds with False Promises Between July 2020 and March 2023, Ian G. Bell raised over $1.3 million from at least 29 investors, including professional athletes. He claimed to be a successful day-trader of index futures and other commodities, promising good returns.
2. Fabricating Success To convince investors and keep them from withdrawing their money, Bell sent many of them fabricated screenshots of account performance, falsely showing he was making profitable trades.
3. Misappropriating Investor Money Bell did not invest all the money as promised. He lost nearly all of the investors' funds through trading and also kept hundreds of thousands of dollars for his personal use.
4. Lying About Losses and Repayments When investors asked about their money or wanted it back, Bell lied about his trading performance and his efforts to repay them, attempting to conceal the extent of the losses and his misappropriation.
5. Continued Deception Because of Bell's false statements about performance, several investors referred their family and friends to him, leading to more people being defrauded.

The Enforcement Action

SEC Charges Ian G. Bell with Securities Fraud for Defrauding Investors in Day-Trading Scheme. The SEC’s complaint alleges that, between July 2020 and March 2023, Bell raised more than $1.3 million from at least 29 investors, including professional athletes, by lying about his trading performance and misappropriating their funds. Bell lost nearly all the investors’ money, kept hundreds of thousands for personal use, and lied about repayment efforts. The SEC’s complaint charges Bell with violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. A parallel criminal action was unsealed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado.

Named in this action: Ian G. Bell.

Original SEC litigation release ↗ · Browse all cases