Business ProfileforMJ Capital Funding, LLC

On 10/19/2021 this company's accreditation in BBB was revoked by BBB's Board of Directors due to recent government action involving the business's customer relations which indicates a significant failure of the business to meet standards of conduct expected of a BBB member.

The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the government's allegations, which have not yet been proven.

As of August 13, 2021:

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order, an asset freeze, and the appointment of a receiver to stop an alleged Ponzi scheme and misappropriation of investor proceeds perpetrated by Coral Springs, Florida resident Johanna M. Garcia and two entities she controls.

According to the SEC's complaint, which was filed in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, since about June 2020, Garcia and her companies raised at least $70 million from more than 2,150 investors in a fraudulent securities offering. The complaint alleges that Garcia, and her companies MJ Capital Funding, LLC and MJ Taxes and More, Inc. told investors that offering proceeds would be used to fund small business loans called "merchant cash advances," and promised investors annual returns of 120% to 180%. In fact, according to the complaint, the defendants only made, at most, $2.9 million in merchant cash advance loans and earned very little in revenue. Instead, the defendants allegedly used at least $20 million of new investor money to pay purported returns to existing investors in a classic Ponzi scheme fashion. In addition, the complaint alleges that the defendants misused another $27.4 million of investor money by making payments to various other entities, a substantial portion of which represented payments to sales agents for promoting these investments.

The SEC's complaint, filed on August 9, 2021, and unsealed today, charges the defendants with violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. Specifically, the complaint alleges that the defendants violated Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In addition to the emergency relief granted by the Court, the complaint seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions; disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty from each of the defendants; and an officer and director bar against Garcia. The Court set a hearing for August 25, 2021, to determine if a preliminary injunction should be entered and whether the asset freeze should remain in force for the duration of the litigation.

Case Information: Securities and Exchange Commission v. MJ Capital Funding, LLC, et. al, Civil Action No. 0:21-Cv-61644-Ahs (S.D. Fla. filed August 9, 2021)

LINK: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2021/lr25168.htm