SEC Charges Purported ‘Green’ Mining Company With Fraud

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Puerto Rico-based Back to Green Mining and its two managing members for running a fraudulent and unregistered offering in a purported “green” mining venture.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Back to Green President and CEO José Jiménez Cruz and Managing Member Manuel Portalatin allegedly offered and sold to retail investors the opportunity to share in the profits of a purported “green” gold and platinum mining operation in Colombia. The SEC said the offering, which was not registered with the regulator, was part of a scheme that fraudulently raised more than $2.7 million from approximately 150 investors.

For more stories like this, sign up for the CIO Alert newsletter. 

Jiménez allegedly was in charge of collecting and disbursing funds from investors, and he had sole control of the Back to Green accounts into which he deposited the $2.7 million. During this same period, from 2016 to 2019, the SEC alleges Jiménez withdrew every dollar that investors deposited into the Back to Green accounts and disbursed the money to himself, Portalatin, and family members.

“While the defendants appear to have spent some investor funds on actual mining operations,” said the complaint, “the amount invested does not represent even close to the $2.7 million contributed by investors.” It added that company records “do not include sufficient business documentation to confirm that [mining] equipment was actually delivered to the site, in working order, and necessary to the particular needs of the operation.”

Jiménez and Back to Green also allegedly placed advertisements promising investors what the SEC says were “exorbitant” 40% monthly returns that would begin to flow in within months of investing with Back to Green. They also allegedly presented investors with materials that falsely stated that they had obtained all permits necessary to mine in Colombia.

The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly ill-gotten gains plus interest, and civil penalties against Back to Green and Jiménez. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, Portalatin has offered to settle and accept permanent injunctions from future violations of the charged provisions and from participating in securities offerings not registered with the SEC. He has also agreed to pay disgorgement of just over $600,000 plus prejudgment interest of more than $64,000 and a civil penalty of $160,000. The settlement is subject to the approval of the district court.

Related Stories:

SEC Settles With Eight Firms Over Inadequate Cybersecurity Measures

‘Crypto Mom’ Pushes Back Against SEC Over Poloniex Fine

VC Fund President Gets Nearly 5 Years in Prison for Securities, Wire Fraud

Tags: Back to Green Mining, Fraud, green mining, Jose Jiménez, Manuel Portalatin, SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Settlement, unregistered offering

Which would Cathie Wood rather invest in over the next 10 years: large-cap companies as a whole, or US Treasurys? Her answer: the guvvies.

Right now, the benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields only 1.4%, and its total return—interest plus price changes—is negative 2.3%. At the same time, large caps have done well. The S&P 500, the signal large-cap index, is up 18.6% this year, after a bounce back this week.

Someone at the Morningstar Investment Conference asked Wood, the champion of disruptive technology companies, which she’d prefer.

“I do really think the Treasury bond will do well,” said Wood, also the founder of Ark Innovation. The reason is that, unlike most on Wall Street, she said she thinks deflation—not inflation—lies ahead for the US economy, and tanking consumer prices would buoy bonds. The Bloomberg US Aggregated Bond Index, which covers investment-grade paper such as Treasury corporate bonds, has hardly been a winner this year, losing 0.43%.

Never miss a story — sign up for CIO newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest institutional investment industry news. 

What’s more, not all of the growth stocks that have performed so swimmingly of late will continue to do so, she added. Too many carry too much debt, for one thing, in her view. But she remains committed to her faves, as they are bent on disrupting the economic status quo: electric vehicle maker Tesla, digital payment outfit Square, and video health-care prover Teladoc.