Based on the representations in these account statements, many investors reinvested their principal and purported profits in other Renaissance projects. The defendants also sent quarterly account statements to investors setting forth the fictitious profits their investments had purportedly earned. The defendants misrepresented to investors that their investments would earn returns ranging from 10% to 25% in as little as four months.
Some of the purported projects did not exist, and others were unsuccessful. Many of the victims were elderly and were solicited through Jehovah's Witnesses congregations.Īccording to the complaint, from at least March 1999 through April 2004, the defendants raised funds for multiple purported projects, including a general fund, an outlet mall, an international currency exchange, and a Swiss bank. The Commission's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Renaissance and its principals raised over $16 million from more than 190 investors nationwide.
The Commission filed civil fraud charges today against Renaissance Asset Fund, Inc., Ronald J. 19764 / JSecurities and Exchange Commission v.
