The Securities & Exchange Commission today charged former broker Surage Kamal Roshan Perera & his firm, Janues Capital Incorporated, with defrauding at least one investor out of millions by lying about investment opportunities & strategies, concealing trading losses, & using funds received from others to give the victim the promised returns in Ponzi-like fashion. The SEC has obtained emergency relief in court, including a temporary restraining order & an asset freeze.

According to the SEC’s complaint, from February 2022 until March 2023, Perera, a Long Island, NY resident, falsely told an investor, not named in the complaint, that Janues had access to specific restricted securities at discounted prices though connections with large, institutional investors. He allegedly claimed to also exercise a trading strategy, which he referred to as ‘Options Straddles,’ that would not only prevent any trading losses but also guarantee returns on some of the investments of up to 9 percent with the potential for returns of 50 percent. According to the complaint, Perera & Janues misappropriated at least $3.5 million of the investor’s funds to engage in highly speculative & leveraged trading. In total, Perera engaged in more than $2.5 billion in securities transactions, with nearly $3 million in trading losses. Perera then allegedly concealed the misappropriation & losses by providing the investor with phony confirmations & account statements that falsely showed the expected returns. The complaint also alleges that Perera further attempted to hide the losses by using funds received from other sources to make Ponzi-like payments to the investor.

“As noted in our complaint, Perera & his firm Janues engaged in predatory & fraudulent behavior by claiming to have special access to securities through their professional connections, but instead defrauded millions of dollars from his investor,” said Antonia Apps, Director of the New York Regional Office. “We will continue to pursue individuals who prey upon retail investors & steal money from their clients.”

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York today announced criminal charges against Perera.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that Perera & Janues violated antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Perera also was charged with aiding & abetting Janues’ alleged violations. The SEC’s complaint names Nishani Alahakoon, whose brokerage account Perera & Janues traded, as a relief defendant. The asset freeze obtained by the SEC prevents any further dissipation of investor funds. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions & disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest & penalties.

The SEC’s continuing investigation is being conducted by Austin Thompson & Christopher Ferrante of the New York Regional Office, & supervised by Hane L. Kim, Chief of the Retail Strategy Task Force, & Tejal Shah of the New York Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation against Perera & Janues will be led by Kevin P. McGrath & Mr. Thompson. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York & the Federal Bureau of Investigation.