Is Jon Harder a west coast Bernie Madoff? According to the SEC charges, Harder and Sunwest were raising funds from investors and using the new money to pay other investors and operating expenses in a kind of ponzi scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed civil fraud charges against Sunwest Management, Inc, Jon Harder, and certain closely affiliated entities and sought sought a motion in Federal Court to freeze assets and appoint a receiver to oversee Sunwest and related entities.
The allegations range from 2006 to 2008 where Harder allegedly raised $300 million from more than 1,300 investors who were told that their money would buy partial ownership interest in a specific retirement facility and provide a 10% annual investment return according to the SEC complaint. As of January, over a hundred of Sunwest’s retirement homes were in foreclosure, receivership or bankruptcy. The SEC alleges that investors were misled because a majority of the retirement home sites were losing money.
The allegations, the latest in a string of alleged scams uncovered amid the national recession, target Oregon-based Sunwest Management; Jon Harder, the firm’s founder and former CEO; and several related entities and individuals. The complaint alleges that the money was allegedly commingled in a single fund that was used to pay operating expenses, investor returns and other costs.
For the statement from Sunwest, click here.
Click on the following links for the story by USA Today, The Seattle Post Intelligencer.
