Pathyam Patel, 23, Arrested in $4,00,000 Ponzi Case

Photo: Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office

India-West Staff Reporter

MONTGOMERY, AL – The Alabama Securities Commission has indicted 23-year-old Pathyam Patel, also known as Pat Patel, an investment adviser for his involvement in a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of over $4,00,000.

He then, the ASC said, used the money for his personal expenses like gambling, and never invested it in securities. Patel has now been indicted on nine counts of securities law violations. The charges include one count of ‘Fraud in the Sale of Securities’ and six counts of ‘False Statements in the Sale of Securities.’ All counts are Class B felonies with punishment ranging from two-20 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $30,000 for each felony.

It is alleged that between 2017 and 2023, Patel sold more than $400,000 in investment contracts to at least six investors. Patel was associated with Infinity Wealth Management, an investment advisory firm that he claimed was registered with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Patel claimed he could earn substantial profits for investors by investing their funds, and he guaranteed no loss of their principal. After receiving the investors’ funds, Patel represented to certain investors that they had to pay additional fees to maintain their investments.

Patel did not invest the investors’ funds as communicated; instead, he used the funds for gambling on sporting events, personal expenses, and paying earlier investors. Patel had no ability to guarantee that investors would not lose their principal. At the time, Patel was not registered with the ASC to sell securities in Alabama, and the investment contracts he sold were not registered with the ASC. Infinity was not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer.

Originally hailing from Gujarat’s Gandhinagar, Pathyam Patel was arrested in on March 6.