In September 2023, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint naming Aras Investment Business Group, LLC, its CEO Armando Gutierrez Rosas (Gutierrez) and four other associates with perpetrating a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme which involved unregistered offerings of securities and affinity fraud.
Though his Mexican-based company and its U.S.-based affiliate (both named Aras) the defendants solicited about $15 million from 450 U.S. based investors who were primarily native Spanish speaking members of the Mexican American community.1
Investors believed that their investments would be used to purchase real estate and Mexican mining operations.
Affinity fraud occurs when a member of a group uses their position or membership in the group to promote fake investments using their position in the group to convince group members to trust them.2
These groups can be religious groups, ethnic groups, workforce groups (such as the military), or any other group. Often the fraudster lies to the potential investors about important details of the investment such as the risk of loss, the track record of the investment or the background of the promoter of the scheme.3
The defendants in the Aras filing promised investors returns in U.S. real estate and Aras’ Mexican mine that ranged from 4.5% to 10% claiming that they were secure investment funds with minimal risk.
Instead, older investors were paid from the funds invested by newer investors in a Ponzi fashion. Investor funds were also used to purchase a $50,000 Harry Winston engagement ring; a $2.5 million mansion in Prosper, Texas; and household and vacation items, as well as cash payments to defendants.
No investor money was ever invested as stated in social media ads, on websites or in other documents provided to investors. The defendants promoting these investments were also not registered securities brokers and they perpetrated the unregistered offer and sale of securities. In total U.S. investors lost about $6 million.
A final judgement was entered in this case on July 13, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Aras, Gutierrez and the four named associates were ordered to pay disgorgement with prejudgment interest of over $2.5 million, with Gutierrez levied an additional civil penalty of $448,746.4
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1 SEC Complaint Case 3:23-cv-00353, 9/21/2023
Link: https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2023/comp-pr2023-190_0.pdf
2, 3 What is Affinity Fraud?
Link: https://www.sec.gov/about/divisions-offices/division-enforcement/affinity-fraud
4 SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Mexico-Based Company, Its CEO, and Four Individuals in Alleged Ponzi Scheme Targeting Spanish-Speaking U.S. Investors, 7/13/2026
Link: https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26595