SEC v. George S. Blankenbaker, et al. was filed in the
United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana
on March 31, 2021, seeking a permanent injunction enjoining the
defendants from future trading, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains,
and civil penalties.
The SEC filed a civil action against the defendants, an
individual and three of his companies, based upon their illegal
offering scheme that preyed primarily on the elderly. In three
years' time, the defendants raised approximately $11 million
from at least 109 investors, falsely representing that their money
would be used to make short-term loans to food exporters in Asia
that would result in profit. In reality, the defendants misused
approximately $8.1 million of the funds by directing them into hemp
companies, using them for personal benefit, or making Ponzi-style
payments to prior investors using new investors' funds.
