SEC concludes case against five US citizens tied to overseas boiler rooms that sold fake investments

The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced on November 2, 2026 that its case against five US citizens linked to overseas boiler-room schemes has concluded. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Daniel T. Wellcome Jr. on October 9, 2026, after final judgments against Michael D’Urso, Alyssa D’Urso, Antonella Chiaramonte and Jay Garnock on June 5, 2025.

What the SEC alleged

The SEC’s complaint, filed on February 9, 2022, alleged that the defendants used overseas boiler rooms in 2019 and 2020 to defraud investors by selling them fake investments that purportedly traded on US exchanges.

According to the complaint, Wellcome acted as the intermediary between the boiler rooms and Michael D’Urso, who used his daughter Alyssa D’Urso, Chiaramonte and Garnock as nominees to open and manage bank accounts for fake companies he had created to receive investors’ money. The SEC alleged that D’Urso skimmed a portion of the victims’ funds for the defendants before wiring the rest back to the boiler rooms. A sixth defendant, Robert Lenard Booth, died, and the SEC voluntarily dismissed the charges against him on May 30, 2025.

The judgments

The final judgment against Wellcome orders him liable for disgorgement of $267,404 and prejudgment interest of $6,090.92, both deemed satisfied by the restitution order entered against him in a parallel criminal case. A consent judgment entered on April 1, 2022 had already enjoined him from future violations and imposed a conduct-based injunction.

The judgments against Michael D’Urso, Alyssa D’Urso, Chiaramonte and Garnock enjoin them from future violations of the antifraud provisions, impose conduct-based injunctions and order disgorgement with prejudgment interest, deemed satisfied by restitution orders in the related criminal case.

What it means for traders

Boiler rooms cold-call investors and sell them investments that may not exist, often claiming a listing on a well-known exchange. This case shows the money trail running through accounts opened by nominees for shell companies. Before sending money for any investment pitched by phone, check that the firm is registered; our guide on how to check a broker’s licence explains how.