SEC Charges Investment Adviser With Stealing From Friends, Community Members

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against an investment adviser with a history of violating the securities laws for defrauding his close friends and community members. According to the SEC’s complaint filed Tuesday, from at least 2014 through at least 2017, Bruce J. Fixelle solicited investments from close friends he met through a local community organization, telling them that he was going to invest their money in initial and secondary offerings, which he would then sell before the end of the trading day. Fixelle described his trading strategy as safe and successful. In reality, rather than investing these funds, he allegedly used investor money to pay mounting personal debt and personal expenses.