The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged former Lynnwood, Washington-based Mutual of Omaha broker Ronald Fossum, with fraud. In December 2017, the SEC alleged that Mr. Fossum participated in a scheme to defraud “three pooled investment funds, as well as investors in those funds.” Allegedly, from March 2011 until June 2016, he raised more than $20 million from more than 1,000 investors in three pooled funds: Smart Money Secured Income Fund, Turnkey Investment Fund, and Accelerated Asset Group, all managed by Fossum himself. Smart Money’s holdings were mostly in real estate, websites, oil and gas and other securities, Turnkey’s were mostly in oil and gas ventures, and Accelerated’s were mostly in distressed consumer debt.
While raising money for and managing these funds, Mr. Fossum allegedly misappropriated funds for his personal use, commingled fund assets, transferred monies between the funds in an indiscriminate manner and hid one of the fund’s “inability to redeem investments,” which its offering documents promised. He also allegedly offered and sold interests in Turnkey Fund and Smart Money without a registration statement or exemption from registration, and he allegedly acted as an unregistered broker when he executed transactions in Turnkey Fund. He also took compensation for those transactions. The funds filed for bankruptcy in June 2016 because of Mr. Fossum’s violations, mismanagement and fraud.
Ronald Fossum was previously registered with Mutual of Omaha Investor Services in Lynnwood, Washington from July 2000 until August 2008. He has one civil claim pending against him. He is not currently registered as a broker, according to his online, public record with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). You may be able to recover your investment losses with Ronald Fossum by bringing a claim against Mutual of Omaha in the FINRA arbitration forum on a contingency fee basis. The firm had a duty to reasonably supervise Mr. Fossum while he was registered there.
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