SEC Charges Tennessee RIA and Its Owner With Religious Affinity Fraud
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Cookeville, Tenn., resident Donald Anthony Wright, age 54, and his company, Retirement Specialty Group Inc. – an SEC-registered investment adviser – with defrauding at least six investors.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Wright primarily targeted Christian clients by promoting his and Retirement Specialty Group’s “faith-based” approach to investing. Between approximately June 2021 and July 2023, Wright and Retirement Specialty Group allegedly recommended and sold over $2 million in fraudulent promissory notes to at least five advisory clients and one other investor. In recommending and selling these notes, some of which promised monthly interest of up to 20%, Wright allegedly misled investors concerning the nature and safety of investing in the notes.
For example, Wright allegedly claimed that: the notes were secured by real estate; investments in the notes were safer and more stable than investments in the stock market; and Wright personally had invested substantial funds in the notes. According to the complaint, all of these claims were false.
Wright raised this money, at least in part, to support his efforts to acquire a faith-based media marketing company, according to the complaint. Specifically, several entities told Wright that they could help him secure financing for this acquisition but insisted that he first transfer certain amounts to them as a prerequisite. Lacking these funds himself, Wright generated the required capital by having his advisory clients and at least one other investor purchase promissory notes supposedly issued by these entities.
The complaint further alleges that, after selling the notes, Wright misappropriated most of the note proceeds for his own personal benefit and then lied to the investors about the repayment status of the notes. For example, after one of the notes defaulted, Wright allegedly fabricated an $8.1 million wire-transfer confirmation that he gave to a client to falsely assure him that repayment of his note was forthcoming. Wright also allegedly failed to disclose his business and financial ties with the issuers of the notes, which created conflicts of interest. Notably, the complaint claims that, on at least three occasions, Wright obtained investor funds by creating and using fake promissory notes that were not issued by any company.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, charges Wright and Retirement Specialty Group with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Wright and Retirement Specialty Group each consented to the entry of an order permanently enjoining them from violating the charged provisions and authorizing the court to determine at a later date the amount of disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties that each defendant shall pay. Wright also consented to a permanent officer-and-director bar and to an injunction that permanently bars him from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security, subject to certain exceptions.
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