On the morning of April 27, 2026, with closing arguments approaching in a 24-felony fraud trial, Gary Rathbun was found dead in his vehicle in Wauseon, Ohio. The $72 million Ponzi scheme he allegedly helped run for a decade did not die with him.
Two hundred and seventy-two investors put money into a California real estate fund that promised steady monthly income from rental homes. The SEC alleges the monthly checks kept coming only because fresh investors were paying for them, and the people running the fund knew it from nearly the beginning.
The agency that is supposed to catch financial fraud just announced it is done measuring success by how many cases it brings. Before you decide whether that is reassuring or alarming, read what they replaced the old measure with.
The SEC shrank its enforcement staff by nearly 17 percent in 2025 and dismissed dozens of cases inherited from the prior administration. For people who got a private placement pitch last year, that number matters more than the press release announcing it.