SEC Charges Pennsylvania Adviser With Misappropriating $20M-Plus From Clients
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged former Pennsylvania-based investment adviser Scott J. Mason and his companies, Rubicon Wealth Management LLC and Orchard Park Real Estate Holdings LLC, with misappropriating more than $20 million from at least 13 Rubicon advisory clients.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least 2014 to 2024, now 66-year-old Mason made unauthorized transfers of money from Rubicon clients’ accounts to his own accounts and those of his entities, Rubicon and Orchard Park. As the complaint alleges, Mason used the money for his own purposes, including to pay country club dues, transfer it to other clients, and purchase a portion of a miniature golf course in New Jersey. The complaint further alleges that Mason forged clients’ signatures, made numerous misrepresentations about what he was doing with clients’ money, and concealed his fraud for years by providing fake account statements and tax documents.
“As alleged, Mason’s clients trusted him to invest their money as he said he would but, instead, he repeatedly abused that trust to enrich himself at their expense. He then lied to them and manipulated documents to cover his tracks,” said Nicholas P. Grippo, regional director of the SEC’s Philadelphia office.
Mason previously held FINRA Series 7, 24 and 63 securities licenses, and was associated with investment adviser firms and/or broker-dealers registered with the SEC, including Rubicon. Mason was Rubicon’s president and managing member during the period in question and became Rubicon’s chief compliance officer in 2016. He was also an investment adviser representative with Rubicon and gave Rubicon clients investment advice in exchange for fees during the relevant period.
In its Form ADV filed in March 2024, Rubicon reported having roughly 115 investment-advisory clients and $231 million in assets under management.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, charges Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Mason, Rubicon, and Orchard Park have consented to the entry of final judgments that permanently enjoin them from committing future violations of those provisions and provides that the court will decide the amounts of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties at a later date. The settlement is subject to court approval.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced criminal charges against Mason.
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