Announcements

Tampa investment firm accused of $170 million Ponzi scheme

February 19, 2020

Federal regulators say two EquiAlt executives used millions of dollars for luxury cars, fancy watches and chartered jets.

By Richard Danielson – Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is accusing a Tampa real estate investment firm and its founder of running a Ponzi scheme that raised $170 million from about 1,140 investors and misappropriated millions of dollars to pay for sports cars, collector wristwatches and chartered jets.

Federal regulators sued EquiAlt, its owner and chief executive officer, Brian Davison of Tampa, and its managing director, Barry Rybicki, of Phoenix, Ariz., in federal court in Tampa last week. U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven has since frozen EquiAlt’s assets, ordered the company not to destroy documents and appointed a receiver to manage its affairs while the case is pending.

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SEC Charges Real Estate Company and Executives With Defrauding Retail Investors, Obtains Emergency Relief

February 18, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington D.C., Feb. 18, 2020 —

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an emergency enforcement action and a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against Florida-based private real estate firm EquiAlt LLC, its CEO Brian Davison, and its Managing Director Barry Rybicki, in connection with an allegedly fraudulent unregistered securities offering that raised more than $170 million from at least 1,100 investors, a number of whom invested their retirement funds.

According to the SEC’s complaint, unsealed Feb. 14, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, EquiAlt, Davison, Rybicki, and the entities they control, fraudulently raised millions of dollars by making material misrepresentations to investors about EquiAlt’s investment strategy, the financial condition of the investments, and the uses of investor proceeds. The defendants allegedly told investors they would pool investor funds and use approximately 90% of the money to purchase undervalued real estate, rent or flip the properties, and pay investors 8-10% annual interest generated from the real estate investments. In reality, the complaint alleges, a large portion of investor money went to support Davison’s and Rybicki’s lavish personal spending, and less than 50% of the funds raised were used to invest in properties. In addition, money from one investment fund controlled by EquiAlt was allegedly used to make Ponzi-like payments to investors in another fund.

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