SEC Halts Fraud by Purported Quant Hedge Fund Manager

The SEC obtained an asset freeze against a Boston-area money manager and his investment advisory firm charged with misleading investors in a supposed quantitative hedge fund and diverting portions of investor money into his personal bank account.  According to the SEC, Andrey C. Hicks and Locust Offshore Management LLC made false representations to create an aura of legitimacy when soliciting individuals to invest in a purported billion dollar hedge fund that Hicks controlled called Locust Offshore Fund Ltd. Hicks raised at least $1.7 million from several investors for the hedge fund. Among the false claims made to investors were that Hicks obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard University, and that he previously worked for Barclays Capital, and that the hedge fund held more than $1.2 billion in assets.