Written by Michael Wu
By order released by the SEC on November 10, 2011, Western Pacific Capital Management LLC, a San Diego-based investment adviser, and its President, Kevin James O’Rourke, were charged with fraud for failing to disclose a conflict of interest to clients and materially misrepresenting the liquidity of The Lighthouse Fund LP, a hedge fund they formed and managed.
Western Capital and O’Rourke urged clients to invest in a security without disclosing that Western Pacific would receive a 10 percent commission. They also failed to register as a broker, failed to provide required written disclosures to clients, improperly redeemed one hedge fund investor’s interest ahead of another’s, and made material misstatements and omissions to clients regarding the fund’s liquidity. As a result of these conducts, the SEC alleged that Western Capital and O’Rourke willfully violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Sections 10(b) and 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1), 206(2), 206(3), and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder.
A full text of the SEC release and order are available here.