Temple Funds Swindled! $37 Million Ponzi Scheme Exposed!

SEC v. Satish Appalakutty, Lorven Funds, Lorven Advisors LLC, et al. — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26472, dated January 29, 2026.

The SEC charged Satish Appalakutty and his companies, Lorven Funds and Lorven Advisors LLC, for allegedly running a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded at least 100 investors out of $37 million. The defendants falsely promised high returns by investing in stocks, but instead used new investors' money to pay earlier investors and misappropriated millions for personal use, including a software startup.

In Plain English

Imagine someone promises to grow your money by investing it in exciting stocks. They claim they can get you great returns, like 8% to 62.5% every year! But instead of actually investing, they take money from new people who give them money and use it to pay off the people who invested earlier. Some of the money was also taken for personal spending, like a new business. When they couldn't get enough new money to pay everyone, the scheme collapsed.

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. Promising High Returns From early 2019 through March 2024, Satish Appalakutty and his entities, Lorven Funds and Lorven Advisors LLC, allegedly told investors their money would be used for lucrative investments. They promised minimum annual rates of return ranging from 8% to an astonishing 62.5%.
2. Fictitious Investment Opportunities Defendants claimed investor funds would purchase stocks of well-known public companies at a discount (Secondary Public Offering or 'SPO' transactions), acquire stocks of private pre-IPO companies, or be invested in other ways to generate returns. They assured investors they would not lose their money.
3. No Actual Investments Made In reality, the SEC's complaint alleges that these investment opportunities were entirely fictitious. The defendants did not purchase any stocks of public or pre-IPO companies, nor did they carry out any other legitimate investment activities on behalf of investors.
4. Ponzi-Like Payments Instead of investing, Appalakutty allegedly used money from new investors to make 'Ponzi-like' payments to earlier investors, fulfilling the promised returns to keep the scheme going.
5. Personal Misappropriation Appalakutty also allegedly misappropriated approximately $6.7 million of investor money for his personal benefit. This included using about $4.4 million to fund his software startup, Vistalytics Inc.
6. Scheme Collapse By early 2024, the defendants were unable to raise new funds quickly enough to cover the promised payments to existing investors. This led to the cessation of repayments and the eventual exposure of the scheme.

The Enforcement Action

On January 29, 2026, the SEC charged Satish Appalakutty, Lorven Funds, and Lorven Advisors LLC with operating a Ponzi-like scheme that defrauded at least 100 investors of at least $37 million. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against Appalakutty. Vistalytics Inc. is named as a relief defendant for disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.

Named in this action: Satish Appalakutty, Lorven Funds, Lorven Advisors LLC, Vistalytics Inc..

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