A Payson man, Steven L. DeWitt, has been ordered by the Arizona Corporation Commission to pay $6,590 in restitution and a $5,000 administrative penalty for committing securities fraud.
The Commission found Mr. DeWitt created a fictitious CEO named “Trevor Bloom,” as well as fake employees for his fake business entity, “The Authentic Trader,” in effort to raise money for another fake business named “TAT Live.” DeWitt raised at least $20,250 from seven investors for TAT Live through Craigslist advertisements he placed for The Authentic Trader, which purported to offer trading education. However, within two months of the investors’ initial investments, DeWitt spent all of the investors’ money on personal and unrelated business expenses.
The Commission found that DeWitt did make some prior payments to investors in advance of its Securities Division’s proposed consent order. In addition to the Commission’s final order, securities regulators in Wisconsin and Ohio have also previously issued orders against DeWitt.