SEC Charges Private Equity Firm Prime Group for Inadequate Disclosure of Fees Paid to Affiliate

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Prime Group Holdings LLC, a private equity firm focused on alternative real estate asset classes, for failing to adequately disclose millions of dollars of real estate brokerage fees that were paid to a real estate brokerage firm that was owned by its CEO. Prime Group agreed to pay a $6.5 million civil penalty and more than $14 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to settle the charges. According to the SEC’s order, Prime Group, based in Saratoga Springs, New York, launched an investment fund in 2017 to purchase self-storage real estate properties. The order found that the fund mostly relied on deal teams comprised of Prime Group’s employees and independent contractors to find and acquire “off-market” properties.