SEC Sues Former Linqto Executive for Allegedly Defrauding Retail Investors of Over $430 Million

According to disclosures on the official website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the SEC formally filed suit on October 9, 2026, against former Linqto executives William Sarris and Joseph Endoso, alleging they committed fraud while selling equity in Pre-IPO unicorn companies to retail investors through their online platform. Between 2021 and 2024, a Linqto subsidiary sold more than $430 million in special purpose vehicles (SPVs) to retail investors. The SEC alleges that the two individuals misrepresented pricing as being below market value (when in reality almost all transactions were priced above fair value), falsely claimed shares were "sold out," falsely stated that prices were dynamically set by algorithms (when they were actually manually determined), and publicly asserted compliance while knowingly violating regulations. Additionally, the two are charged with illegally operating an unregistered investment company and selling unregistered securities to non-accredited investors. The SEC is seeking injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus interest, civil penalties, and an order barring them from serving as officers or directors of public companies in the future. The investigation was led by the SEC’s San Francisco Regional Office, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI.