Adviser Raised $6.8 Million, Misused Investor Cash, Feds Say (1)

An investment adviser raised millions from investors and spent their funds on Ponzi payments and personal expenses including a fancy car and political contributions, the DOJ and the SEC said in federal court filings in New Jersey on Monday.

David W. Schamens raised around $6.8 million from investors, including about $1.8 million in 2020 and 2021, then misused the money, according to complaints the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

“There was no Ponzi scheme,” Frank P. Arleo, an Arleo & Donohue LLC partner who represents ...