In an unusual case, the SEC charged Shahin Ahmed, the personal driver of a hedge fund manager, for posing as an investment professional to convince three investors to let him manage their money, resulting in their combined losses of over $1 million. According to the SEC complaint, Ahmed had no investment experience at the investment adviser where the hedge fund manager worked or any other financial firm, lacked formal education beyond high school, and possessed no license that would qualify him to work as a securities professional. However, by lying to investors, he apparently fraudulently induced at least one individual to deposit money into an entity that Ahmed organized with a name deceptively similar to the investment adviser's name, and he fraudulently induced both that individual and two others (a husband and wife) to grant him control over their online brokerage accounts. He falsely promised at least one of these victims that he would fully guarantee that victim’s principal investment against any trading losses and falsely promised other victims that he would repay at least some of their trading losses. The SEC noted that Ahmed further perpetuated his fraud by providing victims with fake written statements regarding the value of their invested assets; lying to one of the victims about an alleged opportunity to purchase investments at a steep discount; and lying to a broker to conceal that Ahmed was trading assets on behalf of others in the account. Ahmed consented to a settlement providing injunctive relief and barring Ahmed from the securities industry. The judgment authorizes the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York to determine at a later date the appropriateness and amount of any disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil money penalty.