The SEC charged Giovanni Pennetta, who managed a private fund through his exempt reporting adviser, Sestante Capital LLC for false representations about his access to shares of private company, Anduril Industries, Inc., to investors who invested over $10.5 million in the private fund NextGenTech Investments LLC (“NextGenTech”). Instead of using the investor funds to purchase Anduril stock, Pennetta allegedly misappropriated over $6.2 million for his personal use and to repay an investor in a separate NextGenTech offering. Pennetta consented to an SEC injunctive order with disgorgement and penalties to be determined at a later date. In a parallel criminal action concerning the same conduct, on March 5, 2026, Pennetta pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Pre-IPO and similar private fund strategies involving single purpose vehicles created to invest in private companies, often technology-related, that are expected to eventually go public are increasingly common. There have been several SEC enforcement actions in recent years involving such vehicles, fraudulent misrepresentations, and misappropriate, which raises SEC scrutiny of such strategies, of which fund managers should be aware.