SEC Charges ClearPath Wealth Management and Owner With Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a suit against Patrick Churchville, and his firm ClearPath Wealth Management (“ClearPath Wealth”) misappropriated and misused his investors’ cash and assets through a fraudulent scheme involving theft that was covered up by false accounting entries, shadow accounts, and misrepresentations to his investors, financial institutions, to third-party administrators, and to ClearPath Wealth’s auditors and accountants. According to the SEC, Mr. Churchville and his firm, ClearPath Wealth, caused over $11 million in losses to investors of the funds they advised and controlled. The SEC alleged that the defendants misallocated and misappropriated investor assets as part of a Ponzi-like scheme. According to the SEC, the defendants took monies that were due to be distributed to particular investors to pay for new investments to fund distributions to unrelated investors and themselves. The SEC alleged that Mr. Churchville’s home overlooking Narragansett Bay was bought with approximately $2.5 million stolen from investors.
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