Ponzi Scheme Fueled by $15 MILLION in Stolen Investor Funds!

SEC v. Voyager Pacific Capital Management, LLC, Roger David Hardcastle, John Giarmarco, et al. — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26534, dated April 21, 2026.

The SEC charged Voyager Pacific Capital Management, LLC, its CEO, and two other executives with orchestrating a multi-year fraud. They allegedly misused over $15 million in investor funds, using new money to pay existing investors in a Ponzi-like scheme, and diverted millions more to entities they controlled. The scheme resulted in significant losses for the real estate fund and its investors.

In Plain English

Imagine you give money to a company to invest in real estate. Instead of buying properties, the company used your money and money from new investors to pay back earlier investors. They also secretly took millions for themselves. This is like a house of cards, and it eventually collapsed, costing investors a lot of money.

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. Fund Setup and Initial Misappropriation In July 2020, Roger Hardcastle and John Giarmarco acquired Voyager Pacific Capital Management, LLC, which managed the Voyager Pacific Opportunity Fund II. Shortly after, they, along with Vanessa Lung-Medlock, began improperly diverting funds. Hardcastle and Giarmarco caused the Fund to send approximately $5.98 million of investor funds to entities they owned or controlled, with nearly half of this amount sent without supporting documentation.
2. Undisclosed Loans to Controlled Entities Hardcastle and Giarmarco also entered into loan contracts between the Fund (or its subsidiaries) and other entities they controlled. These agreements, as enforced by Voyager, did not require repayment to the Fund, violating the Fund's Operating Agreements which stipulated loans to affiliates must be on the same terms as non-affiliate loans.
3. Ponzi-Like Payments to Investors To mask the ongoing fraud and financial shortfalls, Hardcastle, Giarmarco, and Medlock used more than $15 million of new equity investor money to make Ponzi-like payments to existing investors. These payments were neither permitted by the Fund's offering documents nor disclosed to investors.
4. Accounting Fraud and Backdating To further conceal the Fund's financial problems, the Ponzi-like payments, and their overall fraud, Hardcastle, Giarmarco, and Medlock altered the Fund's accounting practices. They also created fraudulent, backdated purchase agreements to falsely inflate the Fund's reported income.
5. Allegations of Fraudulent Scheme The SEC's complaint alleges that from September 2020 through March 2024, the defendants caused Voyager to use over $15 million in new investor money to pay current investors in a Ponzi-like manner. This was partly due to Hardcastle and Giarmarco taking millions of dollars from the fund and giving it to entities they owned or controlled in undisclosed transactions.

The Enforcement Action

The SEC charged Voyager Pacific Capital Management, LLC, its CEO Roger David Hardcastle, former CFO John Giarmarco, and COO Vanessa Lung-Medlock with a multi-year fraudulent scheme. The complaint alleges they used over $15 million in new investor money to pay current investors in a Ponzi-like fashion and diverted millions more to entities controlled by Hardcastle and Giarmarco. Hardcastle and Giarmarco have agreed to bifurcated settlements. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties. Relief defendants include several LLCs to which ill-gotten gains were allegedly transferred. In a parallel criminal proceeding, Roger David Hardcastle pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud.

Named in this action: Voyager Pacific Capital Management, LLC, Roger David Hardcastle, John Giarmarco, Vanessa Lung-Medlock, Adagio SPE LLC, Andante SPE LLC.

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