Which authorites allege was fake of course, along with most of the hedge fund’s other claims. Including their 110 Wall St address – “In fact, the firm operates its office in a commercial space located in a strip mall on Staten Island and pays for the use of a ‘virtual address’ on Wall Street,” the criminal complaint against the defendants reads. Apparently their neighbours include a martial arts school and a bakery.

The SEC specifically alleges that Gryphon falsely touted that it:

• Has significant trading operations
• Manages or advises hedge funds with holdings in excess of $1.4 billion
• Has a principal who “pull[ed] in revenues that exceed $50 billion”
• Has a “self made billionaire” who is a “great stock picker”
• Has key personnel who were educated at prestigious institutions or who were affiliated with major investment banks
• Received an endorsement from George Soros

Gryphon frequently posted investment tips on the Internet using at least 40 different monikers such as “Wolves of Wall Street,” “Wall Street’s Most Wanted,” “Pure Profit,” and “Mafia Trader,” says the SEC. Here’s an extract from the front page of the Wolves of Wall Street:

Dear Worried Investor, I call it the “Wolf Pack Strategy” headed up by street smart, self made billionaire Kenneth Maseka. At the age of 15 Maseka knew he wanted everything Wall Street could bring. Growing up in Manhattan, the upper half, the place nobody talks about “Hells Kitchen”. An extremely talented and bright investor, it’s been said that he can simply look at the numbers and they just make sense; almost as if they are actual living things. Maseka has been quoted as saying the quotes are as clear to me as a musical score is to a great conductor. I see the symbols as a rhythm, a heartbeat, a pulse, and that makes beautiful music – it all makes perfect sense to me.

Ken Marsh, who went by the “Ken Maseka,” moniker as well as “Michael Warren,” and “Marcus Thorn,” according to the SEC’s complaint, was a front-man for the fake $1.4 billion fraudulent hedge fund. He described himself to investors as “Wall Street’s Most Wanted,” using this bio (via Business Insider):

Back in 1991 Kenneth Maseka was the most sought after trader on Wall Street for his uncanny knack for finding Wall Street’s hidden gems. In 1995 his average profit exceeded 1000% per trade (not much has changed since then.)

Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns could not lure him away with offers of millions of dollars up front to come over. Maseka asked himself, “Where is the challenge,” and passed on their generous offers. Anyway, when you are averaging 1000% per trade there is no need to be an employee and a few million dollars is nothing in the long-term scheme of things.

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The saddest thing. According to the SEC’s complaint, Gryphon obtained more than $17.5 million from its operations over the past three years.