Statement Summary
The SEC has charged Kenneth Mattson, former CEO of LeFever Mattson, with defrauding approximately 200 investors of over $46 million by selling fake interests in real estate investment partnerships. Many of the victims were retired seniors from his church community. Between 2007 and April 2024, Mattson allegedly misled investors, offering them false ownership interests that were not recorded in legitimate partnership records. He used new investor funds for personal expenses and to pay earlier investors in a Ponzi-like scheme. The SEC is pursuing permanent injunctions and penalties, while the U.S. Attorney’s Office has filed parallel criminal charges against Mattson. An Investor Alert has been issued cautioning individuals on how to avoid similar frauds involving self-directed IRAs.
Original Statement
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged San Francisco Bay Area resident Kenneth Mattson, the former CEO of real estate investment business LeFever Mattson, with defrauding approximately 200 investors of at least $46 million by selling them fake interests in real estate investment limited partnerships. Many of these investors were retired senior citizens Mattson met through his church community.
According to the SEC’s complaint, LeFever Mattson managed legitimate limited partnerships that invested in residential and commercial real estate, and that were owned by a set of real investors. From approximately 2007 to April 2024, Mattson allegedly offered and sold fake ownership interests in these limited partnerships to defrauded investors. The complaint states that the fake sales were not reflected in the legitimate records of ownership, and investors who purchased the fake interests never became actual limited partners or received ownership rights.
Instead, Mattson allegedly commingled new investor funds with personal and business funds and used the commingled funds to make Ponzi-like payments, gave defrauded investors false tax records, and misappropriated investor funds to pay for personal expenses and real estate transactions related to his personal partnership, KS Mattson Partners LP. The complaint further alleges that Mattson solicited investors to transfer funds from their individual retirement accounts (IRA) to so-called self-directed IRAs, enabling them to invest in the purported limited partnership interests Mattson offered and sold. These purported sales were not recorded in LeFever Mattson’s books and records, and these investors did not become actual limited partners, according to the complaint.
“As our complaint alleges, Mattson lied to hundreds of individual investors, many of whom were retirees investing their hard-earned savings, and did not actually sell them the ownership interests that he promised,” said Sam Waldon, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “The SEC is firmly committed to pursuing those who prey on retail investors and retirees, such as the individuals we allege that Mattson targeted.”
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, charges Mattson with violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions, including a conduct-based injunction, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and an officer and director bar. The complaint also names KS Mattson Partners LP as a relief defendant and seeks disgorgement of its ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest.
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has issued an Investor Alert with tips on how investors can identify and avoid frauds that operate in connection with self-directed IRAs.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California today announced criminal charges against Mattson. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Duncan C. Simpson LaGoy, Natasha Bronn Schrier, and Michael Foley and was supervised by David Zhou and Jason H. Lee of the San Francisco Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Mr. Simpson LaGoy and Ms. Bronn Schrier. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the FBI.
