SEC Charges Fintech Company Founder With Scheme to Defraud Investors and Misappropriate Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Michael Liberty, the founder of the fintech startup now known as Mozido Inc., with a scheme to trick hundreds of investors into investing in his shell companies instead of Mozido. Liberty and his accomplices then allegedly stole most of the more than $48 million raised to fund a lavish lifestyle that included private jet flights, multi-million dollar residences, expensive cars, and movie production ventures. The SEC’s complaint, filed March 30, 2018, alleges that Liberty, his wife Brittany Liberty, his attorney George Marcus, his cousin Richard Liberty, and his cousin’s friend Paul Hess induced investors to purchase unregistered interests in shell companies controlled by Michael Liberty that supposedly owned transferrable interests in Mozido.