SEC Accuses Finance Tweeter Of Running A Ponzi, And Says He Was Using Client Money As His Personal Piggy Bank

The SEC has charged a hedge fund manager known for his Twitter presence with fraud.

Ohio-based Anthony Davian — known as @hedgieguy — "misappropriated more than $1 million from investors in funds managed by his company," according to the SEC filing (via ZeroHedge).

Davian raised at least $1.5 million from investors since 2011 and touted high returns, according to the filing. Such profits were "figments of Davian's imagination," the SEC argues.

As one example, one investor wired Davian $100,400 into a bank account that previously had a balance of less than $13. Davian immediately transferred $65,000 of that money to another account and bought himself an Audi Q7, according to the filing.

Last month, the Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation reported Davian was under investigation and had attempted suicide.

Now it looks like investigators found what they were looking for. From the filing:

Defendants promote Davian Capital as a highly successful investment firm managing a portfolio of profitable hedge funds. But Davian Capital is nothing more than Davian's personal piggy bank. He has invested only some of his clients' funds. He has used the rest to finance construction of a luxury home for himself, and to buy himself a luxury car, among other things.

The SEC argues Davian falsely claimed his funds were generating high returns in "fabricated account statements."

In late June investigators searched Davian's computer and records, according to the Southern Investigative Reporting Foundation's report. Davian had become popular thanks to YouTube videos and a newsletter of trading tips.