{"id":4747,"date":"2025-08-27T15:31:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T07:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/?p=4747"},"modified":"2025-08-27T15:31:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T07:31:00","slug":"water-machine-manufacturer-owner-charged-in-275-million-fraud-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/water-machine-manufacturer-owner-charged-in-275-million-fraud-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Machine Manufacturer Owner Charged in $275 Million Fraud Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ma\u0219in\u0103 de asamblare a pieselor auto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SEC Files Charges Against Ryan Wear<\/span><\/strong>, Affiliates, and Portfolio Manager Jordan Chirico<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against Ryan Wear\u2014of Marysville, Washington\u2014and his affiliated entities, Water Station Management LLC and Creative Technologies, Inc., for orchestrating two interconnected Ponzi-like fraud schemes between September 2016 and February 2024. The schemes allegedly raised over $275 million from more than 250 investors, spanning both retail and institutional participants.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a separate but related action, the SEC also charged Jordan Chirico\u2014a portfolio manager based in Carmel, Indiana\u2014for breaching his fiduciary duties. The regulator alleges Chirico invested his private fund clients in Wear\u2019s scheme despite undisclosed conflicts of interest and his awareness of warning signs indicating potential fraud.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Fraud Schemes<\/span><\/strong>: Two Phases of Deception Centered on \u201cWater Machines\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

According to the SEC\u2019s complaint, Wear and his entities executed the fraud in two distinct but linked phases, both centered on false claims about \u201cwater machines\u201d as investment collateral:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Retail Investor Scheme<\/span><\/strong> (Sept 2016 \u2013 Sept 2023)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first scheme targeted retail investors\u2014including military veterans\u2014raising over $165 million. Defendants marketed investment contracts under the pretense that investors were purchasing water machines, which would generate steady revenue through operations. In reality, thousands of the purported water machines either did not exist or had already been sold to other investors, the SEC alleges. Veterans were specifically solicited with promises of \u201chigher guaranteed returns\u201d and \u201cexclusive financing options,\u201d tactics the SEC criticized as exploitative.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Institutional Investor Scheme<\/span> <\/strong>(Apr 2022 \u2013 Feb 2024)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The second phase shifted to institutional investors, raising more than $110 million through the sale of Water Station notes. These notes were falsely represented as being secured by water machines\u2014yet, as with the retail scheme, most of the claimed collateral either did not exist or was not owned by Water Station, the complaint states.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Over $60 Million in Investor Funds Misappropriated<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The SEC further alleges that Wear and his entities misappropriated over $60 million of investor funds. A portion of this money was used for \u201cPonzi-like payments\u201d to earlier investors (to create the illusion of legitimate returns), while the rest funded Wear\u2019s unrelated business ventures\u2014including Refreshing USA, LLC and Ideal Property Investments LLC, both named as \u201crelief defendants\u201d in the case (entities that benefited from the fraud but are not accused of direct misconduct).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Portfolio Manager Jordan Chirico\u2019s Fiduciary Breach<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jordan Chirico\u2019s role in the scheme<\/span><\/strong>, per the SEC\u2019s separate complaint, involved violating core duties to his private fund clients. The regulator claims:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Chirico directed his fund to purchase Water Station notes without disclosing his significant personal investment in Wear\u2019s business\u2014a material conflict of interest that clients were entitled to know.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Even after noticing \u201cred flags\u201d (including signs that the purported water machine collateral might be fabricated), Chirico caused the fund to substantially increase its investments in the notes, prioritizing his own interests over those of his clients.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEC\u2019s Enforcement Actions and Parallel Criminal Charges<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEC Official Highlights Severity of Misconduct<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Corey Schuster<\/span><\/strong>, Chief of the SEC\u2019s Division of Enforcement Asset Management Unit, emphasized the severity of the alleged misconduct:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWear\u2019s scheme spanned more than seven years and ensnared hundreds of investors\u2014including veterans lured by false promises. For advisers like Chirico, acting in clients\u2019 best interests and disclosing conflicts is non-negotiable. His failure to do so, while doubling down on a questionable investment, violates the trust at the heart of the advisory relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SEC\u2019s Relief Requests<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Ma\u0219in\u0103 de asamblare a pieselor auto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The SEC filed its complaints in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charging all defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of federal securities laws. The regulator is seeking:<\/p>\n

Injunctive relief to bar future violations;<\/p>\n

Civil penalties against Wear, his entities, and Chirico;<\/p>\n

Disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains (including profits from the fraud) from defendants and relief defendants;<\/p>\n

A permanent bar prohibiting Wear from serving as an officer or director of any public company.<\/p>\n

Coordinated Civil and Criminal Actions<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Wear and Chirico on the same day, marking a coordinated effort between civil and criminal authorities to address the fraud.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The machine supplier near me<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Machine suppliers in China \/ Chinese machine suppliers<\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SEC Files Charges Against Ryan Wear, Affiliates, and Portfolio Manager Jordan Chirico \u00a0 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against Ryan Wear\u2014of Marysville, Washington\u2014and his affiliated entities, Water Station Management LLC and Creative Technologies, Inc., for orchestrating two interconnected Ponzi-like fraud schemes between September 2016 and February 2024. The schemes allegedly [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-technology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rzautoassembly.com\/ro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}