South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that the Attorney General’s Office is participating in a multijurisdictional, coordinated enforcement action to stop a fraudulent precious metals scheme that involves investments exceeding $68 million from at least 450 investors nationwide.
The Attorney General’s Office has joined the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and 26 other state securities regulators in filing a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, which alleges that Safeguard Metals, LLC and Jeffrey Santulan a/k/a Jeffrey Hill, solicited investors nationwide by selling precious metals at grossly inflated prices that were not disclosed.
“This is one of several precious metals investment schemes that the Attorney General’s Office and other state securities regulators have endeavored to stop since the beginning of the pandemic. South Carolina investors should be particularly cautious when purchasing gold, silver, and other precious metals. We want South Carolinians to be on the lookout for outrageously high commissions, spreads, or markups,” said Attorney General Wilson. “As the market continues to fluctuate, we anticipate seeing more fraudsters attempting to capitalize on investors’ uncertainty and use fear to manipulate investors out of their hard-earned money.”
