SEC Charges Bay Area Fund Executives in Alleged $80 Million Ponzi-Like Scheme
The SEC charged two Bay Area private fund executives in an alleged $80 million Ponzi-like scheme, while final recoveries and penalties remain unresolved after consent judgments await court approval.
- The SEC charged Mark D. Hanf and Hoai-Nam Chu Phan in an alleged Ponzi-like scheme.
- The SEC says the offering raised more than $80 million from about 190 investors, many retired senior citizens.
- The SEC alleges Hanf misappropriated more than $7 million.
- Outstanding investments were almost $121 million, with recoverable assets estimated below $17 million by February 2026.
- The defendants consented to judgments subject to court approval, and the U.S. Attorney's Office announced parallel criminal charges.
What investors will recover and what penalties Hanf and Phan will ultimately pay remain unresolved after the SEC charged two San Francisco Bay Area private fund executives in an alleged multimillion-dollar Ponzi-like scheme.
The SEC said Mark D. Hanf, former CEO of Novato, California-based Pacific Private Money Group LLC, and Hoai-Nam Chu Phan, former COO of a PPMG subsidiary, raised more than $80 million from about 190 investors, many retired senior citizens.
From about December 2021 to November 2025, the complaint alleges, Hanf and Phan told investors in two PPMG private funds that their money would originate or purchase real estate-backed loans and generate preferred or fixed returns. Instead, the SEC says they used new investor capital to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors, with touted returns sourced largely from new money rather than earnings from real estate lending.
The SEC also alleges Hanf misappropriated more than $7 million for personal use. Jason Lee, associate director of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office, said the scheme began to unravel in the fall of 2025 when investors demanded withdrawals and the defendants lacked sufficient funds.
"Despite total outstanding investments in the two private funds of almost $121 million, by February 2026 the total recoverable assets of those funds were estimated to be less than $17 million," Lee said.
The SEC complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It charges Hanf and Phan with violating federal securities antifraud provisions.
Without admitting the allegations, Hanf and Phan consented to judgments, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin them from violating the charged provisions and from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer or sale of securities, except personal-account purchases or sales, and leave final monetary relief to the court.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced criminal charges against Hanf and Phan.
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