On December 5, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Shahin Ahmed, the personal driver of a hedge fund manager for posing as an investment professional to convince three investors to let him manage their money, resulting in their combined losses of over $1 million.
The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleges that from at least March 2020 to February 2022, Ahmed persuaded prospective clients that he had experience as a professional money manager at a hedge fund when, in fact, he was employed as the personal driver for a hedge fund manager, without any of the education or professional experience he claimed to have. As set forth in the complaint, Ahmed led at least one client to believe his funds would be expertly invested by the hedge fund manager for whom he drove, and presented the client with a fake investment opportunity and false reports of high returns. As alleged, Ahmed further induced that individual and a married couple to give him access to their own brokerage accounts to trade securities in those accounts. Ahmed allegedly guaranteed risk-free investment, while fraudulently collecting fees from his clients. The complaint further alleges that, contrary to his promised guarantee, Ahmed never repaid any of the trading losses that he caused.
Source: SEC Charges New York Man with Defrauding Clients by Posing as a Professional Money Manager