HARTFORD, Conn. – A Connecticut hedge fund manager who pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in what prosecutors called a massive Ponzi scheme has been barred from acting as an investment adviser or broker.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposed the action Wednesday against Francisco Illarramendi (EE'-yah-rah-mehn-dee).
The 42-year-old New Canaan resident, a Venezuelan-American, is awaiting sentencing.
Federal prosecutors said Illarramendi, who operated Stamford-based Michael Kenwood Capital Management, ran the illegal scheme from about 2006 up until this year. They say he defrauded investors, creditors and the SEC by creating fake documents to bolster bogus claims about investment funds.
Authorities say the scheme exposed investors to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential losses. A pension fund for Venezuela's state oil workers accounted for most of the investment.
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