What Is The Spaventa Group? SEC Boiler Room Fraud Case

The Spaventa Group is a Long Island financial firm founded by former broker Andrew Spaventa in 2020. In August 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Spaventa, The Spaventa Group LLC, TSG Capital Advisors LLC and TSG Alpha Partners LLC with fraud and other securities-law violations. The SEC alleges the companies operated a “boiler room” that raised more than $74 million from over 800 mostly retail investors by selling investments tied to pre-IPO companies while concealing massive markups and fees.

Spaventa Group Boiler Room Allegations

SEC Says Spaventa Group Raised More Than $74 Million From Over 800 Investors. Regulators allege Spaventa and his companies raised the money between approximately December 2020 and June 2025 through 11 private investment funds. More than 650 investors put in $100,000 or less, and more than 100 of the investors were retirees. [Fortune]

Spaventa Group Allegedly Used More Than 100 Sales Agents To Cold-Call Investors. The SEC says Spaventa’s operation employed more than 100 sales agents who made unsolicited calls to thousands of potential customers across the United States. Regulators described the operation as a boiler room that used high-pressure sales tactics to convince people to invest in private funds. [SEC]

Sales Pitches Focused On Hot Pre-IPO Companies Including SpaceX And Anthropic. Investors were offered opportunities tied to shares of prominent private companies including SpaceX, Anthropic, Anduril and Perplexity. Other private companies identified in the SEC complaint included Stripe, Epic Games, Rubrik and Impossible Foods. The companies whose shares were involved have not been accused of wrongdoing in the case. [Fortune]

SEC Says Investors Paid Average Markups Of Approximately 46 Percent. Spaventa-controlled entities allegedly bought interests in private companies and then resold them to Spaventa’s investment funds at substantially higher prices. According to regulators, investors ultimately paid prices averaging approximately 46 percent more than what Spaventa’s entities had paid for the investments, despite allegedly being told that fees would be nonexistent or limited. [SEC]

Some Spaventa Group Investment Markups Allegedly Reached 91 Percent. Fortune reported that the SEC complaint identifies individual transactions in which investors were charged premiums far exceeding the alleged average 46 percent markup, with some reaching as high as 91 percent. Regulators allege investors were not properly informed of the size of these markups. [Fortune]

Spaventa Group Allegedly Collected Approximately $23 Million In Hidden Upfront Fees. The SEC alleges that the difference between what Spaventa’s entities paid for investments and what the funds charged investors generated approximately $23 million in upfront fees. Regulators contend these costs were concealed from investors rather than accurately disclosed as fees. [SEC]

More Than $12 Million Allegedly Went To Spaventa Group Sales Agents. According to the SEC, more than $12 million of the approximately $23 million in alleged fees was paid to the sales agents who solicited investors. Fortune reported that agents generally earned commissions of around 10 percent on investments they sold. [Fortune]

Spaventa Allegedly Personally Received Approximately $4 Million. Regulators allege approximately $4 million from the investment operation went directly to Andrew Spaventa. Fortune reported that the SEC claims he used money for expenses including a home purchase, renovations, personal travel and luxury automobile payments. [Fortune]

Spaventa Group Pre-IPO Investments

SEC Says SpaceX Investment Was Marked Up From $595 To $975. Fortune reported that one of the Spaventa funds held a SpaceX investment that a Spaventa entity allegedly acquired for $595 and then sold into the fund for $975, passing the substantially higher price on to investors. [Fortune]

Anthropic Shares Allegedly Carried Markups As High As 79 Percent. According to the SEC complaint, a Spaventa fund acquired interests in artificial-intelligence company Anthropic at prices ranging from $32.62 to $41.53 per share and sold them to investors at $58.50. Fortune calculated the alleged markups at between 41 and 79 percent. [Fortune]

Perplexity Investments Allegedly Marked Up Between 27 And 45 Percent. Two Spaventa funds allegedly acquired Perplexity AI interests for prices ranging from $340.72 to $389 before selling the investments at $495, producing markups ranging from approximately 27 to 45 percent. [Fortune]

Anduril Investments Allegedly Carried Markups Of Up To 57 Percent. The SEC complaint also identifies investments tied to defense technology company Anduril across three Spaventa funds. Fortune reported that the alleged markups on those investments ranged from approximately 29 to 57 percent. [Fortune]

Spaventa Group Sales Tactics

Sales Agents Allegedly Told Investors There Were No Hidden Fees. Regulators allege Spaventa Group representatives assured prospective investors that they would either pay no upfront fees or fees of no more than 12.5 percent. The SEC says those representations concealed much larger markups incorporated into the prices investors actually paid. [SEC]

Sales Handbook Allegedly Told Agents Not To Call Payments “Commissions.” Fortune reported that a handbook approved by Spaventa allegedly instructed salespeople not to describe the money they received as commissions and instead refer to the payments as “referral fees.” The SEC alleges many of the people making sales calls were not registered securities brokers, while several had previously been suspended or barred by FINRA. [Fortune]

Agents Allegedly Instructed To Avoid Revealing What Spaventa Paid For Shares. According to the SEC allegations reported by Fortune, sales agents were given scripted responses to use when investors asked what the funds had originally paid for the private-company shares. Agents were allegedly instructed to say that the information was not available to them instead of disclosing the underlying purchase price and markup. [Fortune]

Andrew Spaventa SEC Case

SEC Accuses Spaventa Of Self-Dealing Between Companies He Controlled. Regulators allege Spaventa controlled entities on both sides of transactions: companies he owned first acquired pre-IPO investments and then sold those investments at marked-up prices to funds that were also managed or advised by companies he controlled. The SEC alleges investors did not provide the written consent required for these principal transactions. [Fortune]

SEC Alleges Some Investment Agreements Were Backdated After Regulators Began Inquiry. The complaint alleges that some equity-transfer agreements associated with the funds were backdated after SEC staff began examining Spaventa’s businesses in 2023. [Fortune]

SEC Filed Civil Fraud Case Against Spaventa And Three Companies. The SEC filed its complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 14, 2026. The defendants are Andrew Spaventa, The Spaventa Group LLC, TSG Capital Advisors LLC and TSG Alpha Partners LLC. The case alleges violations of antifraud, securities-registration and broker-dealer-registration provisions of federal securities law. [SEC]

SEC Seeks Financial Penalties And Return Of Allegedly Ill-Gotten Gains. Regulators are asking the federal court for permanent injunctions, disgorgement of alleged profits plus prejudgment interest, civil monetary penalties and restrictions on Spaventa’s future conduct. The SEC action is a civil case rather than a criminal prosecution. [SEC]

Spaventa Denies SEC Fraud Allegations. Spaventa told Fortune after the lawsuit was filed that he denied the SEC’s accusations and intended to defend himself against the case. The allegations have not been proven in court. [Fortune]