“In reality, Infinity existed in name only. It had no bank accounts, brokerage accounts, office space, employees, or assets of any kind.”

💡 This confirms that Infinity Wealth Management was a shell entity with no operational capacity, designed solely to deceive investors.

“Patel deceived prospective clients by telling them Infinity was ‘licensed’ with the Commission as an investment adviser that offered investment portfolio management services to a wide range of clients, including a hedge fund.”

💡 Patel explicitly lied about SEC registration and hedge fund management to build credibility with victims.

“On some Investor Contracts, Patel printed the official seal of the Commission, falsely implying that the Commission had endorsed the investment, Patel, or both.”

💡 Patel impersonated federal authority to legitimize his fraud, a direct abuse of public trust.

“This does not mean that we are not accredited and a licensed hedge fund management firm; Infinity Wealth Management will offer a wide range of investment portfolio management services hence we are well trained and equipped to service a wide range of clientele base.”

💡 Patel’s self-authored business plan falsely claimed professional credentials and licensure that did not exist.

“There is a solidified verbal and written agreement in returning the initial investment no matter the circumstances, if necessary.”

💡 Patel guaranteed investor principal, a promise he knew he could not keep because he was not investing the money.

“Instead of investing his clients’ money as promised, Patel misappropriated most of their money to pay for his personal expenses and to make Ponzi-like payments to other clients.”

💡 This confirms that the majority of investor funds were stolen for personal use, not invested.

“Patel spent most of the money for personal uses such as online sports betting and living expenses and to make Ponzi-like payments to other clients.”

💡 Investor funds were gambled away and used for personal consumption while victims believed their money was being professionally managed.

“However, Patel never invested the client’s money. Instead, Patel spent it on fast food and cash withdrawals, and to make payments to others.”

💡 Even after telling clients they earned profits, Patel had never invested their money at all, spending it immediately on personal items.

“Patel told multiple clients that if they wanted to receive their principal investment amounts back, they were required to pay what he called, among other things, SEC fees, withdrawal fees, Virginia State Corporation Commission fees, and IRS fees. In reality, none of these investors owed any such fees.”

💡 Patel invented fake fees to extract additional money from victims who were already trying to recover their losses.

“At least three clients paid Patel significantly more in fictitious fees than the amount of money they sent to Patel to invest on their behalf.”

💡 Some victims lost more money paying fake fees than they originally invested, deepening their financial harm.

“During the Relevant Period, Patel solicited at least 15 people, including college and high school friends and their family members, to become clients of his purported company, Infinity.”

💡 Patel exploited personal relationships and targeted young, inexperienced investors who trusted him.

“Many of Patel’s clients invested less than $15,000 with him, but a few invested larger amounts, with the largest client providing more than $100,000 for Patel to invest on their behalf. Most of the clients sent money to Patel to invest for them multiple times, transferring as little as $100 at a time.”

💡 Victims invested modest amounts repeatedly, suggesting they were investing savings incrementally and trusted Patel over time.

“Patel knew or was reckless in not knowing that the above statements suggesting otherwise were false or misleading.”

💡 The SEC is alleging Patel acted knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth, a high standard of culpability.

“At the time Patel made these promises, he knew or was reckless in not knowing that there was no reasonable basis for him to believe that he could return his clients’ money upon demand.”

💡 Patel made guarantees he knew he could not fulfill because he was misappropriating the funds, not investing them.

“As with the previous example, these numbers were fictitious.”

💡 The SEC confirms that profit statements Patel sent to clients were completely fabricated, not based on any real investment activity.