Securities Industry Commentator by Bill Singer Esq

In or about February 2015, the indictment alleges that Carryl solicited victim M.G. to give Carryl money to invest in stock on M.G.'s behalf. M.G., a retired nurse who resided in North Carolina, was also Carryl's childhood friend. Over the next couple of months, M.G. wired approximately $64,000 to an account controlled by Carryl, based on Carryl's misrepresentations that M.G.'s money would be used to purchase stocks on M.G.'s behalf. The indictment alleges that rather than purchasing any stock as promised, Carryl used much of the victim's money on personal and other unrelated expenses, and withdrew a substantial amount of it in cash. M.G. invested additional amounts with Carryl throughout 2015 and 2016.

The indictment further alleges that in or about May 2015, Carryl solicited victims W.B., a retired United States Air Force veteran, and his wife A.B.,  who resided in North Carolina, to invest approximately $350,000 in a purported investment fund being managed by Carryl (the Fund). To induce the retired couple to part with their money, Carryl claimed that he was a successful investment adviser who managed investments for the country of Saudi Arabia and that he was friends with wealthy celebrities. Carryl also lied by falsely promising that the victims' money would be invested in safe investments and that they would not lose any principal.  Carryl also told the retired couple that he was going to invest his own money in the Fund, which was not true. Furthermore, Carryl falsely claimed that if W.B. and A.B. sustained any investment losses, those would come out of Carryl's investment first, which offered further "protection" to them.

After W.B. and A.B. wired their funds to Carryl, he sent an email to the couple that purported to identify the various stocks within their portfolio, which included well-known companies.  The the indictment alleges that, contrary to his representations, Carryl did not buy all of the stocks as promised.  Instead, he used much of W.B. and A.B.'s funds on personal and other unrelated expenses and to make substantial cash withdrawals. 

In the months that followed, despite repeated requests by certain victims for statements reflecting the status of their investments, Carryl never provided any statements, and instead made numerous false claims that their investments were doing well and making money. 

Carryl also never disclosed to his victims that he had been the target of a federal criminal investigation, nor that he later pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges related to a separate investment scheme in another state.  In fact, the indictment alleges that, while Carryl was falsely telling W.B. of his intention to liquidate the victim's investment so that Carryl could retire and travel the world, Carryl was awaiting sentencing in federal court.

Carryl was sentenced in New York on or about August 9, 2017, to 12 months and one day in prison.  After his sentencing but before he reported to the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to carry out his sentence, Carryl continued to be in contact with W.B., assuring W.B. that his investments were doing well, all the while failing to disclose any information about his conviction or his impending report date to BOP.   

• Securities Industry Commentator
• Bill Singer