Securities Arbitration Lawyer Blog
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged former Aegis Capital Corp. broker Surage Kamal Roshan Perera and his firm, Janues Capital Incorporated, with fraud and obtaining emergency relief in court, including a temporary restraining order and an asset freeze. The SEC alleges that from February 2022 until March 2023, the Bellrose, NY broker defrauded at least one investor out of millions of dollars by lying about investment opportunities and strategies concerning training losses and using funds received from others to give the victim the promised returns in a Ponzi-like scheme. According to his public disclosure report, Mr. Perera was registered as an investment broker with Aegis Capital Corp until September 12, 2022.
In a separate action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York filed criminal charges against Mr. Perera. He was arrested on Monday, March 27, 2023, and arraigned on a 16-count indictment charging him with securities fraud, investment advisor fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering, in connection with a scheme to induce an investor to purchase stock in companies that traded on the NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Customers of Mr. Perera or Aegis Capital Corp. who have suffered financial losses as a result of Mr. Perera’s negligence or misconduct can contact New York securities arbitration law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP for a free and confidential consultation and review of their legal rights.
Iorio Altamirano LLP represents investors that have disputes with their financial advisors or brokerage firms, such as Aegis Capital Corp.
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Surage Kamal Roshan Perera and Janues Capital Incorporated, 2:23-cv-02316
On March 27, 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a lawsuit in federal court against Mr. Perera and his firm, Janues Capital Incorporated (“Janues”), alleging that from February 2022 until March 2023, Mr. Perera defrauded at least one investor (“Investor A”) out of millions of dollars by lying about investment opportunities and strategies; misappropriating the investor’s money by, in part, not purchasing the securities she subscribed to through Janues and using a substantial portion of her money to engage in high volume, highly leveraged trading in other securities; lying to her about non-existent investment profits; and concealing large trading losses.
According to the complaint, Mr. Perera falsely told Investor A that his firm had access to specific restricted securities at discounted prices through connections with large institutional investors. Investor A first met Mr. Perera through a mutual friend when Mr. Perera was a registered broker of Aegis Capital Corp.
Mr. Perera also allegedly claimed to exercise a trading strategy—which he called “options straddles”—that would not only prevent any trading losses but also, for some of the supposed investments, guarantee returns on the investment of at least 9% and up to as much as 50%. Perera’s false promises convinced the investor to give him approximately $4.3 million.
According to the lawsuit, Mr. Perera did not use Investor A’s funds to purchase the securities she had subscribed to and did not engage in the promised “options straddles” to prevent trading losses and generate the profits he had guaranteed. Instead, he transferred at least $3.5 million of Investor A’s funds to a brokerage account in the name of his wife, Nishani Alahakoon, and used those funds to engage in highly speculative, leveraged trading, which resulted in over $3 million in trading losses.
Mr. Perera allegedly concealed his misappropriation of Investor A’s funds and his trading losses by providing Investor A with phony trade confirmations and account statements that falsely showed the expected returns and by using funds received from other sources to partially repay the investor victim.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Mr. Perera and Janues violated antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Mr. Perera also was charged with aiding and abetting Janues’ alleged violations. The SEC’s complaint names Nishani Alahakoon, whose brokerage account Perera and Janues traded, as a relief defendant.
Financial Advisor Surage Kamal Roshan Perera (CRD No. 4716321)
Roshan Perera had 18 years of experience in the securities industry and was associated with 11 different brokerage firms, including five different firms that have been expelled from the securities industry by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). Mr. Perera was registered with Aegis Capital Corp from April 18, 2018, through September 12, 2018.
According to his public disclosure report with FINRA, Mr. Perera has been the subject of at least one customer dispute, which included allegations of unauthorized trading. The 2009 dispute was settled.
Investors who have disputes with their financial advisors and brokerage firms can file securities arbitration claims to resolve the disputes and seek recovery of investment losses.
FINRA’s BrokerCheck tool can be used to obtain Mr. Perera’s complete and updated disclosure report.
Aegis Capital Corp. – A Duty to Supervise
Selling away is when a financial advisor solicits a customer to participate in a private securities transaction that is “away” from the firm. In other words, when a broker recommends a transaction to buy or sell a security that is not offered or approved by the brokerage firm where the financial advisor is employed or registered.
A brokerage firm can be held responsible for its financial advisors’ conduct in “selling away” cases under certain circumstances.
Pursuant to FINRA Rule 3280, when a broker-dealer approves a private transaction away from the firm, the firm assumes legal responsibility for the trade. There are no exceptions to this rule. Broker-dealers can be held responsible for the conduct of their financial advisors in connection with these approved transactions.
Even if a transaction is not approved by a firm, a brokerage firm can also be held liable if the financial advisor acted with apparent authority or the investor reasonably believed that the advisor’s activities were approved or part of the broker’s services.
Brokerage firms like Aegis Capital Corp. must properly supervise financial advisors and customer accounts. Brokerage firms must also establish and maintain a reasonably designed system to oversee account activity, such as private securities transactions, to ensure compliance with securities laws and industry regulations. When a brokerage firm fails to supervise its financial advisors or the investment account activity sufficiently, it may be liable for investment losses sustained by customers.
See Also:
Law Firm Investigating the Sale of GWG L Bonds to Retail Investors by Aegis Capital Corp
Iorio Altamirano LLP Files GPB Automotive Claim Against Aegis Capital Corp
How to Recover Financial Losses or Obtain a Free Consultation
If you have suffered investment losses with Mr. Perera or Aegis Capital Corp or suspect other inappropriate activity occurred in your investment or retirement account, contact New York securities arbitration attorney August Iorio of Iorio Altamirano LLP. August Iorio can be reached at august@ia-law.com or toll-free at (855) 430-4010 for a free and confidential review of your legal rights.
Iorio Altamirano LLP is a securities arbitration law firm based in New York, NY. Iorio Altamirano LLP pursues FINRA claims nationwide on behalf of investors to recover financial losses arising out of wrongful conduct by stockbrokers and brokerage firms.