SEC v. Charles T. Lawrence, Jr. and others (2023)
Settled
Checked against the primary document on October 4, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.
In May 2023 the SEC charged Charles Lawrence with an offering fraud that misappropriated at least $4.89 million. He consented to a final judgment on February 23, 2026 ordering disgorgement of $3,588,713 and interest of $402,534, treated as satisfied by criminal restitution, and the SEC says this ends its case.
The record
| Agency | SEC |
|---|---|
| Release number | LR-25720 |
| Date filed | 2023-05-11 |
| Date resolved | 2026-02-23 |
| Court | U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin |
| Status | settled |
| Criminal parallel | Yes: criminal case referred to, outcome not stated in the document (Charles T. Lawrence Jr. (a restitution order is mentioned)), U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin |
| Defendants | Charles T. Lawrence, Jr. |
| Cited as charged or alleged | Exchange Act s.10(b) and Rule 10b-5 ; Securities Act s.17(a) |
| Techniques |
What was ordered
- Civil penalty
- —
- Disgorgement
- $3.6m
- Prejudgment interest
- $403k
- Total relief
- $4m
- Alleged gain
- —
What is alleged to have happened
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced this matter on May 11, 2023 as release LR-25720. The SEC obtained a restraining order and asset freeze and alleges that Lawrence misappropriated at least $4.8 million from 11 investors, spending it on luxury goods and travel, and sent at least $689,000 to five relief defendants. Ponzi-like payments to some investors are mentioned only as a concealment step.
This library does not tag the matter as a Ponzi scheme: on a source check, the document mentions Ponzi-like payments only in passing, or as part of another party's scheme, and the charges are about something else. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.
On February 23, 2026 the Eastern District of Wisconsin entered a final judgment on Lawrence's consent, as reported in SEC release LR-26492. It permanently enjoins him from violating Section 17(a), Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5, and makes him liable, jointly and severally with relief defendant Landes Prive, for disgorgement of $3,588,713 plus prejudgment interest of $402,534 (total $3,991,247). That total is deemed satisfied by the restitution order in the parallel criminal case, United States v. Lawrence. The release says the SEC had earlier obtained judgments against the five relief defendants and that this judgment completes its litigation. It names no civil penalty and does not state the criminal sentence.
Timeline
- 2023-05-11 Litigation release published
- 2026-02-23 Final judgment by consent as to Charles T. Lawrence, Jr. (E.D. Wis.)
Primary documents
Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.