A suspended securities dealer who reinvented himself as a “finfluencer” referred to as “Okay Cash” was sentenced to 2 years in jail for defrauding traders out of a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars}.
Kenneth Thom obtained his sentence Tuesday, lower than 5 months after pleading responsible to funding adviser fraud.
The rise of social media influencers who dispense funding recommendation to their followers has raised considerations amongst regulators. Although a variety of “finfluencers” accomplice with Wall Road companies, others peddle their very own monetary merchandise. The development has resulted in a variety of arrests.
Prosecutors mentioned Thom, 42, promoted himself as a profitable dealer and Wall Road “luminary” on Fb, Instagram and Twitch. Utilizing the names “Okay$” and “Okay Cash,” he offered buying and selling programs and ideas to his followers. In late 2023, he invited members of considered one of his Fb teams to take part in shared accounts that he mentioned he would handle in change for a share of any buying and selling income.
Thom, of Westfield, New Jersey, raised greater than $800,000 from greater than 5 dozen traders, in line with the federal government, however invested solely $350,000, spending the remainder on himself, together with purchases at Hermès, flights to France and journey in Japan. Of the $350,000 he invested, he misplaced greater than $250,000 buying and selling choices, prosecutors mentioned, however lied to his traders concerning the outcomes, publishing pretend efficiency updates that confirmed important beneficial properties.
In a single instance offered by prosecutors, Thom posted within the Fb group in July 2024 that every of his three shared accounts had been optimistic for the 12 months thus far, with returns of as a lot as 120% — whereas he had already misplaced a few third of the funds he had invested. About six months later, Thom stopped responding to traders.
Thom beforehand labored as a dealer, registering with the Monetary Business Regulatory Authority in 2006. He was suspended 5 years later after he didn’t pay an arbitration award to an investor.
The case is US v. Thom, 25-cr-360, US District Courtroom, Southern District of New York.