SEC v. Robert D. Welsh and Caedrynn E. Conner — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26668, dated October 7, 2026.
The SEC charged Kenneth W. Alexander II, Robert D. Welsh, and Caedrynn E. Conner with operating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 200 investors out of at least $91 million. Alexander and Welsh allegedly promoted a fake international bond trading business, while Conner pooled funds into the scheme. Welsh and Conner have consented to judgments permanently enjoining them from future securities law violations and ordering them to pay disgorgement, interest, and civil penalties.
Imagine someone promised to invest your money in a super-secret, high-paying international trading club. They took money from new investors to pay off earlier investors, like a game of financial musical chairs. This is called a Ponzi scheme. The SEC stepped in and got judgments against two people involved, stopping them from doing this again and making them pay back some of the money.
Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.
SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgments as to Two DFW Residents Charged in Alleged Ponzi Scheme. On September 28, 2026, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas entered final judgments by consent as to Robert D. Welsh and Caedrynn E. Conner. According to the SEC’s complaint, between May 2021 and February 2024, Kenneth W. Alexander II and Welsh orchestrated a Ponzi scheme, with Conner’s substantial assistance and participation, that raised at least $91 million from more than 200 investors. The complaint alleged that Alexander and Welsh operated the scheme, which they called the Vanguard JV Cash Program, through Vanguard Holdings Group Irrevocable Trust (VHG). The complaint further alleged that Alexander and Welsh falsely promoted VHG as a highly-profitable international bond trading business, but, in reality, VHG used investor funds to make Ponzi payments to investors. According to the complaint, in July 2022, Conner created the Benchmark JV Cash Program, an investment program he used to pool funds to invest in the Vanguard JV Cash Program. The complaint alleged that, by the end of 2022, Conner knew, or was severely reckless in not knowing, multiple facts indicating the fraudulent nature of the Vanguard JV Cash Program and, by extension, the Benchmark JV Cash Program. Without admitting the allegations in the complaint, Welsh and Conner consented to the entry of final judgments that permanently enjoin them from violating Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The final judgments also permanently enjoin them from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security except for purchases or sales of securities for their own personal accounts. In addition, the final judgment as to Welsh orders him to pay disgorgement in the amount of $1,062,069, prejudgment interest in the amount of $168,077, and a civil penalty in the amount of $450,000. And the final judgment as to Conner orders him to pay disgorgement in the amount of $8,575,250, prejudgment interest in the amount of $1,357,072, and a civil penalty in the amount of $500,000.