SEC v. James N. Fry (2015)

Settled

Checked against the primary document on October 3, 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.

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In October 2015 the SEC barred James N. Fry by settled order from the securities industry, after a federal injunction and his criminal conviction for misleading investors in Arrowhead funds that put their money into Thomas Petters' scheme.

The record

Structured fields for this action, as recorded in our case library.
Agency	SEC
Release number	IA-4242
Date filed	2015-10-26
Date resolved	2015-10-26
Status	settled
Asset class	bonds
Criminal parallel	Yes: sentenced (James N. Fry (convicted 12 June 2013 at trial)), U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 2013-10-11
Sentence	17y 6m
Bars imposed	registration bar
Defendants	James N. Fry (individual)
Cited as charged or alleged	Advisers Act s.206 ; Exchange Act s.10(b) and Rule 10b-5 ; Securities Act s.17(a) (statutes and rules cited in the document; not a finding that they were violated)
Techniques

What was ordered

Civil penalty: —
Disgorgement: —
Prejudgment interest: —
Total relief: —
Alleged gain: —

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

The order recounts that Fry, through Arrowhead Capital Management, sold interests in funds that lent to Petters' companies, falsely told investors that retailers repaid the notes, hid extensions and payment difficulties, and claimed independent examinations that did not occur. He was convicted in 2013 of securities fraud, wire fraud and false statements and sentenced to 210 months.

The Ponzi scheme was Petters', and Fry's misconduct is misrepresenting a feeder fund, so the ponzi-schemes tag the record carried has been removed. The order imposes an association bar and no money.

Timeline

2015-10-26 Administrative proceeding instituted (findings)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

SEC order

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.