SEC charges Edward May, E-M Management with fraud

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil charges on Tuesday against Edward May and E-M Management Co LLC for raising as much as $250 million over nearly a decade through an allegedly fraudulent scheme involving phony Las Vegas casino and resort telecommunications deals.

May, a Detroit area resident, and E-M Management have been charged with selling investors shares of limited liability companies they said pulled in revenues from contracts with telecommunication equipment and services and hotel casino resorts.

But the SEC said the contracts never existed and some investors were provided with copies of fictitious contracts between E-M Management and certain LLCs and various hotels and casinos.

The SEC is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctions against May and E-M Management, as well as civil penalties and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.

The agency said the scheme victimized as many as 1,200 investors, many of whom were senior citizens. May and E-M Management relied on a network of individuals to entice investors, some of who organized "investment seminars," the SEC said.

Calls to the lawyer representing May and E-M Management were not immediately returned.

(Reporting by Rachelle Younglai; editing by Andre Grenon)