The Massachusetts secretary of state’s office has lodged an administrative complaint against a former Boston hotel banquet worker who allegedly scammed his coworkers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars through a fake investment scheme, officials said Tuesday.
David Markiewicz, of Hull, was accused of carrying out a years-long scheme in which he created an LLC to solicit and manage investor funds while using fabricated earnings reports to conceal his losses and spent investors’ funds on his own expenses, including an Arizona soccer academy, Secretary of State William F. Galvin’s office said in a statement.
In total, a dozen Massachusetts investors lost more than $700,000 over the course of eight years “due to Markiewicz’s poor trading performance and his use of investor funds as his own personal ‘piggy bank,’” Galvin’s office said in the statement.
“Markiewicz preyed upon his former coworkers at a Boston hotel, offering a ‘get rich quick options and securities program’ while the hotel was shut down during the height of the pandemic,” the statement said. They did not say which hotel Markiewicz worked for.
Markiewicz’s attorney did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
According to the complaint, Markiewicz created Nantasket Trading LLC in 2017 to give the alleged scheme “the air of legitimacy” and told investors the funds would be managed through a pooled investment fund at the company, the statement said.
“In reality, Markiewicz, who has never been registered to sell or trade securities in Massachusetts, deposited all investor funds into his personal bank account and traded futures and options contracts through his personal brokerage account,” Galvin’s office said.
Markiewicz allegedly transferred only a portion of the funds into his brokerage account and later made numerous withdrawals from the account, the statement said.
Authorities alleged that Markiewicz used some of the funds to pay for shopping, travel, dining, and a soccer academy in Arizona, Galvin’s office said.
Authorities said Markiewicz allegedly provided investors with false earnings statements that purported to significant growths in their investments, Galvin’s office said. He also allegedly continued to solicit investors even after losing nearly all the funds, the statement said.
The securities division in Galvin’s office is seeking an order to require Markiewicz and Nantasket Trading “to disgorge all ill-gotten gains in connection with the fraudulent scheme, provide restitution with interest to all investors, be barred from registration in the securities industry in Massachusetts, and pay an administrative fine,” the statement said.
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.
