SEC Freezes Money in|Alleged $33 Million Ponzi

DALLAS (CN) — The SEC on Tuesday froze the assets of a California investment adviser, Ash Narayan, whom it accuses of secretly transferring $33 million from his professional athlete-clients into a struggling company of which he was a director.     The SEC filed a sealed complaint against Narayan on May 24 in Dallas Federal Court.     Sued with Narayan, of Newport Coast, were The Ticket Reserve and its CEO Richard M. Harmon and COO John A. Kaptrosky.     In unsealing the complaint Tuesday, the SEC said that “Narayan transferred more than $33 million from clients’ accounts to The Ticket Reserve, typically without their knowledge or consent and often using forged or unauthorized signatures.”     The SEC statement continued: “According to the complaint, the Ticket Reserve became dependent on the fraudulent cash infusions from Narayan’s unsuspecting clients to stay in business and in exchange, Narayan received nearly $2 million in hidden compensation from the company, most of it directly traceable to funds stolen from his clients.”     The SEC said Narayan doled out some of the money in Ponzi payments.