Securities Lawyers Blog
The law offices of Gana Weinstein LLP are investigating reports by multiple securities regulatory agencies that Yasuna Murakami (Murakami), Avi Chiat (Chiat) and the companies and hedge funds that the two managed defrauded over 50 investors by raising $15 million and then misappropriating funds in Ponzi like fashion.
According to the SEC, From 2007 to 2016, Murakami and Chiat defrauded more than 50 investors in three hedge funds run through their investment advisory businesses, MC2 Capital Management, LLC and MC2 Canada Capital Management, LLC. The three hedge funds are the MC2 Capital Partners, LLC (Partners Fund), MC2 Capital Value Partners, LLC (Value Fund), and the MC2 Capital Canadian Opportunities Fund, LLC (Canadian Fund).
The SEC alleged that the firms and their principals violated their fiduciary duties as advisers to the funds by lying to investors about the funds’ performance, falsifying account statements, falsifying tax documents, falsifying performance letters, and providing other misleading communications to investors. According to the SEC, Murakami and Chiat continually misled investors into believing they had invested in profitable ventures when in reality Murakami and Chiat engaged in unprofitable trading that lost more than 70% of the money raised for their first hedge fund in less than two years.