SEC Charges Reign Financial and Berone Capital Over $26M HYIP Fraud | LeapRate | Online Trading Industry News, Broker Intelligence & Fintech Analysis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged six individuals and two entities — Reign Financial International LLC, Reign Financial International Inc., and Berone Capital LLC — for orchestrating a high-yield investment programme (HYIP) fraud that raised more than $26 million from at least 31 investors. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, names Giorgio Johnson, Gary Mills, Patrick Allen, Jeremiah Beguesse, and Fabian Stone as principals. Reign Financial International and two of its principals — Johnson and Mills — have consented to a judgment requiring disgorgement of $1,116,650 plus prejudgment interest of $372,420 and civil penalties of $1,116,650, totalling approximately $2.6 million.

According to the SEC, the defendants operated three fictitious HYIPs, promising investors outsized returns through purported trading strategies. Investor funds were not deployed in any legitimate investment programme. Instead, the SEC alleges, money was misappropriated for personal expenditures including jewellery, luxury vehicles, and private jet travel. The scheme ran over multiple years and targeted investors with promises of guaranteed returns — a classic indicator of HYIP fraud that regulators across multiple jurisdictions have warned about repeatedly.

HYIP fraud remains a persistent problem in the retail investment space, particularly in online communities. The SEC and CFTC have brought dozens of similar actions over the past decade, with several resulting in criminal convictions. The Berone Capital name is not associated with the established European asset manager of the same name. The $26 million raised in this case is relatively large for this category of fraud — most HYIP prosecutions involve sub-$10 million amounts — reflecting the operators’ success in sustaining the illusion of legitimacy across multiple entities and investment vehicles.

Source: SEC Litigation Release LR-26552