The Securities and Exchange Commission
The  has charged a former financial advisor Dawn Bennett with defrauding investors and spending their money on herself and to make Ponzi-like payments to earlier investors in the alleged scheme.

The SEC's complaint alleges that Bennett and DJB Holdings had raised more than $20 million by selling notes issued by the company, a Washington, DC luxury sports apparel firm.

According to the complaint, Bennett exaggerated the safety of the notes and success of her firm, touting it as a profitable business able to pay annual returns as high as 15 per cent.  The complaint stated that Bennett took steps to conceal and continue the alleged scheme, which includes lying to regulators about the note sales, repaying investors with loans she obtained by inflating her net worth, and replacing existing convertible notes with sham promissory notes.