Investment adviser tried to sell $500 billion of fake securities on social media sites

SAN DIEGO. Yesterday, on January, 4, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Anthony Fields, an Illinois-based investment adviser, for trying to sell $500 billion of fictitious securities on social medial websites such as Linkedin. The SEC also charged Mr. Fields with failure to maintain required records and failure to implement adequate compliance policies. Such practices are a violation of Sec. 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act, the Investment Advisers Act, the Investment Company Act and possibly other laws. See the SEC filing here.