Fraudster Drains $4 Million Investor Pool for Personal Spending, Lies!

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26562, dated June 8, 2026.

The SEC charged John Sterling Myers and his companies, Sterling Capital, LLC and Sterling Capital Management, LLC, with a multi-year investment fraud. Myers allegedly misappropriated over $3.6 million from approximately 28 investors in a pooled investment vehicle, Sterling Capital Investments, LLC. He is accused of falsifying account statements, draining the fund through unsuccessful trading and personal spending, and concealing losses from investors.

In Plain English

Imagine someone promising to invest your money for you, like a gardener tending your prize-winning roses. This person, John Myers, promised investors he was growing their money in a special garden called the 'Fund.' He showed them fake reports saying their roses were blooming beautifully, even outperforming the best rose garden in town (the S&P 500). But in reality, he was secretly digging up their roses to spend on himself and his own bad gardening experiments, losing most of their money. He even hid the truth by not sending them the right paperwork, so they wouldn't know how badly their garden was doing.

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. Start the 'Premier' Fund In January 2022, John Sterling Myers launched Sterling Capital Investments, LLC, a "premier" and "exclusive investment pool," through his companies Sterling Capital, LLC and Sterling Capital Management, LLC. He pitched it to friends, family, and other investors across approximately five states.
2. Promise High Returns Myers touted his Wall Street experience and personal trading success, assuring investors that the Fund consistently outperformed the S&P 500 and that their individual investments were growing significantly in value.
3. Raise Millions Over several years, Myers raised approximately $4 million from about 28 investors, promising them substantial returns through his investment expertise.
4. Misappropriate Funds Instead of investing wisely, Myers began draining the Fund's assets. He misappropriated at least $1.8 million by diverting investor money to his personal financial accounts for unsuccessful trading and personal expenses.
5. Fabricate Account Statements To hide the mounting losses and encourage more investment, Myers created fake quarterly account statements. These fabricated documents showed accumulated net gains and positive performance, with reported returns between 16% and 54% annually.
6. Inflate Fund Value Myers generated these sham statements from internal spreadsheets where he inflated the Fund's Net Asset Value (NAV). He included assets the Fund didn't own, such as his father-in-law's home and retirement accounts, and even recorded hypothetical future income as a million-dollar asset.
7. Conceal Trading Losses Myers further concealed the Fund's poor performance by failing to issue required tax forms to investors. This prevented them from knowing their share of the losses. He then claimed all trading losses on his own personal tax returns without informing the investors.
8. Fail to Return Funds When some investors requested the value of their investments as shown on the fabricated statements, Myers offered excuses instead of returning their money, failing to disclose that he had misused and lost their funds.
9. Drain the Pool By the end of 2025, after repaying only about $398,000, over $3.6 million of investors' money was gone due to Myers' unsuccessful trading and personal spending.

The Enforcement Action

On June 5, 2026, the SEC charged John Sterling Myers and his companies, Sterling Capital, LLC and Sterling Capital Management, LLC, with a multi-year investment fraud. The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that from January 2022 through at least July 2025, the defendants misappropriated investor money, falsified investor account statements, and engaged in other misconduct while acting as investment advisers to a pooled investment vehicle, Sterling Capital Investments, LLC. The complaint alleges Myers raised approximately $4 million from approximately 28 investors and that over $3.6 million of investors' money is gone. The SEC charges defendants with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933; Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; and Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all defendants. Myers is also charged with control person liability.

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