SEC puts individual accountability beside NPB’s firm-level case

The SEC’s November 6 actions put a firm-level remedy and an individual sanction side by side. The agency terminated NPB Financial Group, LLC’s Fair Fund after distributing $628,439.04 to harmed investors, while opening administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings against Christopher Williams over unregistered broker activity.

The primary document for NPB is Release No. 106837. The separate order for Williams is Release No. 106836. Together, they show the SEC moving beyond a firm-only resolution in the newer matter: Williams personally received a bar tied to his conduct at 24k Markets LTD.

NPB was ordered to pay $532,519.96 in disgorgement, $92,668.15 in prejudgment interest and a $425,000 civil money penalty, for a total of $1,050,188.11. The SEC’s November 6 order also authorized the transfer of remaining funds from the Fair Fund to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and terminated the fund.

The distribution record provides one useful check on the investor remedy. Of the $628,439.04 distributed to harmed investors, $609,065.08 was successfully disbursed to recipients, according to the order’s figures. That works out to 96.13%: $609,065.08 ÷ $628,439.04. The consequence is concrete for NPB investors: the Fair Fund process is ending, while remaining funds move to the Treasury.

That resolution follows the SEC’s August 20, 2020 order against NPB. The earlier proceeding found that the firm breached its fiduciary duty regarding mutual fund share-class selection and 12b-1 fees. The firm was the named target then; the November action against Williams identifies an individual respondent and imposes a direct industry bar.

Williams, 31, resides in Dallas, Texas, and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The SEC order says he owned and operated 24k Markets LTD from 2024 to 2025. The company was incorporated in Saint Lucia and operated www.24kmarkets.com, soliciting U.S. retail investors to trade in security-based swaps. The operation ceased in 2025.

Williams, known as “Swaggy C,” is a former reality television star and online trading educator. The SEC found that he violated Section 15(a)(1) of the Exchange Act by effecting transactions in security-based swaps without registration as a broker-dealer.

His sanction bars him from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent or nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The order gives him the right to apply for reentry after two years.

The filings do not state how many U.S. retail investors were affected by 24k Markets or the total value of its transactions or losses. For positions and counterparties, the immediate change is Williams’ two-year minimum separation from the listed financial-industry roles; for NPB investors, the fund’s distribution phase has ended.