Gold Coin Firm Permanently Enjoined for Conducting Fraudulent Securities Offering

Defendant Marion and his company, International Rarities Holdings raised approximately $1 million from at least 26 investors through the offer and sale of IR Holdings securities They represented that these were shares of IR Holdings, the supposed parent company and 100% owner of International Rarities Corporation, a privately held Minneapolis based gold coin and bullion sales and trading firm that Marion also owned and operated. However, IR Holdings never owned IR Corp. so investors were fraudulently sold shares of a worthless shell company. Further, Marion generally did not use the investors’ funds for any business purpose at all; he diverted the majority for his own personal use, including for casino gambling. He was enjoined, administratively barred, and also sent to prison for 5 years.