On August 21, 2025, allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) surfaced against a New Jersey individual named Kenneth Thom, who is accused of defrauding investors in connection with an offering that reportedly raised over $600,000 from more than fifty individuals.
Thom, who operated under the pseudonyms “K Money” and “K$” in various online platforms, presented himself as a trading “luminary” and claimed to have an impressive history as a “former Wall Street market maker.” However, the SEC’s complaint reveals that his actual experience within the securities industry was minimal. His professional license had been suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in 2011, and this suspension remains in effect.
The SEC claims that Thom utilized a Facebook group he managed to solicit investments. He encouraged investors to send him their funds, which he promised would be pooled into shared accounts and traded on their behalf. Investors were reportedly led to believe that profits generated from these trades would be shared, with Thom taking 50% while the remaining 50% would be distributed among the investors according to their contributions.
It is alleged that Thom raised upwards of $600,000 from investors, misappropriating around $235,000 of these funds for personal use, including purchases of luxury items and a vacation rental. Furthermore, he provided misleading information concerning both the utilization of investors’ funds and the performance of the trading activities in the so-called Shared Account.
The SEC has filed a complaint in the Southern District Court of New York, charging Thom with breaching several antifraud provisions. These include Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and relevant rules such as Rule 10b-5, alongside Section 206 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8. The complaint demands a permanent injunction against Thom, along with the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, interest, and civil penalties.
In conjunction with the SEC’s action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has also initiated criminal charges against Thom.