Two SEC cases filed four days apart accuse pre-IPO fund sellers of hidden markups
Aug. 14, 2026 — Two SEC cases filed four days apart describe the same risk in the booming market for shares of private companies before they go public: investors paying far more than they were told.
In the larger case, the SEC says New York resident Andrew Spaventa and three companies he controlled raised more than $74 million from over 800 mostly retail investors, many of them retirees, for 11 pre-IPO funds from 2020 to 2025. More than 100 sales agents cold-called prospects and told them fees were zero or no more than 12.5%, the agency says. Instead, investors paid on average about 46% more than Spaventa's companies had paid for the shares, generating about $23 million in hidden fees, including about $4 million for Spaventa.
On Aug. 10, the SEC filed and settled a case against New York adviser Adit Ventures and its founder, Eric Munson, over funds holding shares of companies such as SpaceX and Klarna. The complaint says Munson won a $15 million commitment by falsely claiming a fund already held 32,000 Klarna shares, and that the firm marked up shares in more than 150 transfers to client funds. The defendants settled without admitting the allegations, and a federal judge entered judgments on Aug. 11; Munson said in a statement that he rejects the allegations. Spaventa denied the allegations against him, Fortune reported.
Demand for such shares has grown as companies stay private longer. Some investors bought what they believed were SpaceX shares through complex arrangements before its IPO this year, Reuters reported.
The wall: How many investors lost money in either case is not stated; penalties in the Adit case are to be set by the court.
Tier: Confirmed (key facts read in primary at passage level or better)
Sources
- SEC press release 2026-75 (Spaventa)
- SEC complaint, Spaventa
- SEC press release 2026-73 (Adit Ventures)
- InvestmentNews (Adit complaint details; Aug. 11 judgments)
- Reuters via Lufkin Daily News
- Fortune (Spaventa denial)
- Business Today (Munson statement)
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