Court Shuts Down Faux SRI Fund Site

June 25, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A federal judge has shut down an Internet Web site and frozen its assets after federal regulators alleged site owners claimed they represented a New Hampshire fund family and promised astronomical returns.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that U.S. District Court Judge Joseph DiClerico Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire took the actions against FairPax.com and five other defendants identified as John Does.

According to the SEC’s lawsuit, the fraudulent FairPax.com, FairPax, Inc., and the unidentified individuals simply took the description of its mutual fund verbatim from the high yield mutual fund offered by the New Hampshire-based Pax World, a legitimate fund company offering social responsible investing. The defendants promised an annual return of 675%, the SEC claimed.

The SEC court action seeks an order barring the defendants from continuing to violate federal securities laws, to return ill-gotten gains, and to pay a civil fine.

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