SEC charges Meyer Global, CEO over alleged SpaceX pre-IPO fund fraud

Meyer Global Management LLC and its CEO, Owen E.H. Meyer, face SEC charges alleging fraud against investors and the funds the private fund adviser managed, through investments in SpaceX and other pre-IPO securities. The alleged schemes ran from at least December 2021 through the present. The SEC filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York; its announcement and complaint details are on the agency’s site. The fact sheet contains no response from Meyer or MGM, and the SEC’s claims remain allegations.

The alleged conduct had two linked parts: misuse of fund assets and statements that concealed the damage. Meyer allegedly diverted client assets from MGM-managed funds for personal expenses while defendants sent investors statements inflating account values.

One alleged scheme required investors to sign releases accepting distributions below the amounts they were owed. In another, the defendants failed to address a capital call deficiency tied to a SpaceX investment — resulting, the SEC alleges, in the forfeiture of an investment worth nearly $3 million. That figure comes from the SEC’s allegations, not from established fact.

The agency is seeking permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and a conduct-based injunction against Meyer.

Corey A. Schuster, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit, described the alleged conduct in the SEC’s announcement: “The defendants in this matter were investment advisers entrusted with acting as fiduciaries to their clients. Nevertheless, they allegedly engaged in multiple fraudulent acts to enrich themselves.” He also tied the case to the retail-access problem in private markets: “This case is a reminder that fraudsters can exploit the allure of exclusive, high-return pre-IPO access to take advantage of retail investors.”

A separate Southern District of New York case, announced the day before, charged Jacob Frankel and Christopher Dinelli with securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit both. Frankel also faced investment adviser fraud charges and allegations of making false reports to the SEC, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement.

The alleged Beyond Alpha Ventures LLC scheme ran from 2023 through February 2026 and pulled in more than $8.7 million from approximately 35 investors — a rough average of more than $248,571 per investor on those stated inputs, though both figures carry the qualifiers “over” and “approximately.”

Frankel and Dinelli allegedly told investors they were buying direct shares in pre-IPO companies, or that a third-party administrator would set up a special purpose vehicle. They allegedly oversubscribed at least one offering, then used extra funds to cover BAV margin calls and unprofitable options trades. The Justice Department alleged that BAV had no proprietary algorithms, limited trading history, and suffered catastrophic losses from Frankel’s margin options activity, including a $1.9 million loss on a single trade. Frankel also allegedly omitted prior felony convictions and FINRA disciplinary actions from his Form ADV filings.

U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald framed the prosecution in terms of the market’s growth: “Prosecuting white collar crime is a top priority of this Office, and we are increasingly focusing on the pre-IPO markets as those markets grow.” McDonald said the alleged fraud left investors — including U.S. Navy veterans — with millions in losses after promises of pre-IPO access and sophisticated trading strategies.

The enforcement activity also reaches the trading infrastructure used to offer unregistered products. On Sept. 30, the SEC instituted administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings against Anthony Tyler Williams, who co-owned and operated KOT LTD, also known as KOT4X, from 2019 to 2025. The SEC administrative order says KOT4X ran a branded online brokerage at www.KOT4X.com and solicited U.S. retail investors to trade security-based swaps.

KOT4X offered contracts for differences tied to stocks, commodities, and other assets. The order says stock-based CFDs qualified as security-based swaps under federal securities laws, and that Williams violated Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act by acting as an unregistered broker-dealer. Customers deposited approximately $296 million into KOT4X trading accounts. KOT4X ceased offering trading in any products in September 2025. Williams marketed the platform through his online network and recruited affiliates paid on a transaction basis.

The SEC barred Williams from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, with a right to apply for reentry after two years.