On June 27, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled charges against Rajesh Markan, formerly a broker and investment adviser representative employed by two securities brokerage firms, Merrill Lynch and Hilltop Securities, for soliciting his investors to invest in a fake private equity fund.
According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least 2015 through July 2024, Markan, while working as a registered representative of the two brokerages and investment advisers, solicited approximately ten of his brokerage customers to invest, collectively, approximately $2.9 million in a bogus private equity fund.
The SEC alleges that Markan told the investors that a well-known New York private equity firm advised the fund, which Markan called “Intrinsic Value Portfolio.” The complaint alleges that because Markan claimed it was a private equity investment, Markan told investors that their money would be illiquid for six to twelve years, but he assured them that, ultimately, they could expect to make above-market returns. According to the SEC, these representations were false. The fund touted by Markan was fake. Markan kept most of the investors’ money for himself.
The SEC also alleges that Markan lulled investors by sending fabricated statements purporting to show their account balances, and Markan created a fake domain name so he could send emails as a purported employee of the New York private equity firm. The SEC handed Markan a permanent bar.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas filed criminal charges against Markan in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, to which he pled guilty on June 10, 2025. Additionally, on October 1, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) barred Markan from associating with any securities brokerage in the United States.
There are also a number of civil suits against the employers of Markan.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas Division), charges Rajesh Markan with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
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