Jailed California CEO Forced To Forfeit Turks and Caicos Home

By NAN Contributor

News Americas, RALEIGH, NC, Weds. Aug. 24, 2016: A 47-year-old CEO of a California financial services firm will not only have to spend the next 15 months in jail but also forfeit a home he purchased in the Turks and Caicos.

Jaymes Meyer, aka James Meyer, the CEO of Preferred Merchants LLC, was sentenced on Tuesday, August 23rd in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina to 15 months in prison for engaging in an elaborate obstruction of justice scheme to conceal from the government millions of dollars, which were subject to a freeze order and seizure warrant.

In addition to imposing the prison term, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina entered a monetary judgment of $4.8 million against Meyer.

On March 23, Meyer pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice.

According to the plea agreement, in or about 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Enforcement commenced a securities fraud investigation concerning a Ponzi scheme centering on Rex Ventures Group LLC (RVG), a North Carolina-based company for which Preferred Merchants held millions in assets in treasury and trust accounts.

As a result of its investigation, the SEC filed a civil enforcement action against RVG, resulting in an order freezing all of RVG’s assets and appointing a receiver to marshal, manage and distribute remaining RVG assets to impacted investors.  The U.S. Secret Service also obtained a seizure warrant of RVG assets held by Meyer through Preferred Merchants.  Meyer admitted that in August 2012, the SEC informed him of, among other things, the investigation and the freeze order and requested that Meyer freeze any RVG assets in his possession, custody or control.

According to the plea agreement, in response to this request, Meyer misled the SEC by falsely implying that Preferred Merchants did not exercise dominion or control over any RVG assets when, in fact, Meyer controlled approximately $17.4 million in RVG assets.  Meyer further admitted that he wired approximately $4.8 million from an RVG trust account to a brokerage account under his control after learning about the SEC’s investigation and used that money to purchase homes in the Turks and Caicos and Napa, and took additional measures to conceal his RVG assets.

Meyer also admitted that throughout the pending civil litigation surrounding the RVG scheme, he made fraudulent and misleading statements to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, the SEC and the court-appointed receiver during depositions.

In connection with his plea agreement, Meyer consented to the $4.8 million money judgment entered against him and forfeited the homes that he purchased in the Turks and Caicos as well as Napa as proceeds of the obstruction of justice offense.