An unregistered advisor with the moniker of “Dr. Cash” was sentenced to three years for fraud, stealing millions in victims’ funds, according to the Justice Department.
Terrence Chalk previously pleaded guilty in May 2024 to investment adviser fraud (though he never registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission). According to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District (and former SEC Chair) Jay Clayton, Chalk exploited “shared ethnic or religious backgrounds to build false trust.”
“Defrauding retirees, using the common bond of faith to build trust, is a horrible crime, one that disturbs all New Yorkers,” Clayton said.
According to court records, in 2017 Chalk marketed a new investment fund using the alias “Terrence Cash” or “Dr. Cash,” touting himself as “the nation’s No. 1 business, money and wealth coach,” offering money management and coaching sessions where he would share “the hidden secrets of the wealthy” with clients.
Chalk would target elderly investors, often holding wealth seminars at Black churches where he would sell himself as a “man of faith” looking to help fellow Christians. After hooking potential clients, he’d push them to invest in the purported “Chairman’s Fund,” which he claimed consisted of several pooled investments offering quarterly cash payments and high returns.
However, Chalk used an alias to conceal that he had been convicted of fraud in 2006.
According to a prior complaint from the SEC, Chalk founded a computer systems company. When the business hit hard times, he submitted loan and line of credit applications naming employees and clients as guarantors without their knowledge (even using the name of a dead relative). He eventually spent more than six years in prison.
At first, victims who invested in the “Chairman’s Fund” received quarterly payments as scheduled, and some recommended the fund to friends and family. However, by the end of 2019, most had stopped getting payments, and Chalk falsely claimed that clients had promised they wouldn’t divest for 10 years.
None of the $4.8 million Chalk raised from about 26 investors was invested. Instead, Chalk used the funds to pay other entities Chalk controlled and pay off earlier investors. He also spent about $1.7 million on personal credit card bills, $17,000 on NBA season tickets and $74,000 on a BMW.
The DOJ initially charged Chalk in 2020 (when the SEC filed a civil action). In addition to three years in prison, Chalk will serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution (the amount of which will be set at a later hearing).
#Unregistered #Advisor #Cash #Sentenced #Years #4.8M #Fraud