Ashcroft orders halt to fraudulent investment agent Rallo, seeks $1.3M in restitution, penalties
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Today, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s Securities Division issued a final order to cease and desist against John Rallo and his company FFH Holdings LLC after he solicited over $1.3 million in unregistered, non-exempt securities investments from at least five St. Louis-area investors and one from Utah.
From approximately August 2015 to June 2016, Rallo solicited at least six investors — including residents of O’Fallon, St. Louis, and Wildwood — to invest over $1.3 million in his business FFH Holdings. Rallo claimed that the investment funds would be used to buy interests in Food For Health International, a Utah business, purportedly in the business of buying and selling coconut powder.
Rallo received payments back from Food For Health International of more than $1 million. However, Rallo returned only $38,000 to investors, funneling the majority of the funds to other businesses he controlled.
“Our office works to protect Missouri’s investors from fraudulent agents and firms by ensuring they — and the securities they are offering — are registered,” Securities Commissioner David M. Minnick said. “When we discover an unregistered agent or firm has fraudulently solicited money from investors, we work swiftly to investigate, put a halt to it, and attempt to get the money back to the investors.”
Read more: https://themissouritimes.com/62549/ashcroft-orders-halt-to-fraudulent-investment-agent-rallo-seeks-1-3-million-in-restitution-penalties/