SEC Ends Overseas Boiler Room Case With Final Judgments Against Five Defendants

Published Nov. 3, 2026. Case statuses are current as of that date.

The caller sounded like a broker and offered an investment that supposedly traded on a U.S. exchange. According to the SEC, the investments were fake, the callers worked from boiler rooms overseas, and the investor money was routed through U.S. bank accounts held in the names of fake companies.

On Nov. 2, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that the court had entered a final judgment against Daniel T. Wellcome Jr. on Oct. 9, 2026, the last step in its civil case against six defendants. The SEC alleged that they defrauded investors through overseas boiler rooms in 2019 and 2020 [1].

Important: The SEC case is civil, and the scheme descriptions below are the SEC's allegations from its complaint, as summarized in its release. Where criminal outcomes are known, we describe them below with their sources. Where we could not confirm a criminal outcome, we say so.

How the scheme worked, according to the SEC's complaint

The SEC's release summarizes the complaint's allegations [1]:

1. Overseas boiler rooms. In 2019 and 2020, boiler rooms located outside the United States sold investors fake investments that purportedly traded on U.S. exchanges.
2. A go-between. Wellcome acted as the intermediary between the boiler rooms and Michael D'Urso.
3. Nominee bank accounts. D'Urso used his daughter, Alyssa D'Urso, Antonella Chiaramonte and Jay Garnock as nominees to open and manage bank accounts for fake companies he had created to receive the money.
4. Skimming. When investor money arrived, D'Urso allegedly skimmed a portion of the victims' funds for the defendants before wiring the rest back to the overseas boiler rooms.

IRS Criminal Investigation, announcing the criminal sentence of Robert Lenard Booth in August 2022, said Booth, who had relocated overseas, ran a boiler room from Thailand and Panama, that he and others pretended to be licensed brokers at real Manhattan brokerages, and that his boiler room defrauded at least 17 victims of $2,003,993 [2]. IRS-CI said Booth also used the alias "Trevor Nicholas" [2].

Who was involved and where each stands

Robert Lenard Booth. A jury convicted Booth in April 2022, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay $2,003,883 in restitution and forfeit $780,981.86, according to IRS-CI [2]. On May 30, 2025, the SEC voluntarily dismissed its civil charges against Booth, who had died. The dismissal was because of his death. It was not a settlement, and it was not a judgment against Booth or his estate [1].

Michael D'Urso. On June 5, 2025, the court entered a final judgment against him that enjoined him from future violations and imposed a conduct-based injunction. His disgorgement and prejudgment interest were deemed satisfied by the restitution ordered in the criminal case United States v. Booth et al., 1:21-cr-00652 [1]. Inner City Press, citing the criminal judgment, reported that D'Urso pleaded guilty to three counts and was sentenced in January 2023 to 42 months in prison [3].

Daniel T. Wellcome Jr. On Oct. 9, 2026, the court entered a final judgment ordering disgorgement of $267,404 plus $6,090.92 in prejudgment interest, deemed satisfied by the restitution order in United States v. Wellcome, 1:22-cr-00196-PKC [1]. The SEC says a restitution order was entered against Wellcome in that criminal case, and that the court had entered a consent judgment against him in the civil case on April 1, 2022, enjoining him from future violations. We have not confirmed his criminal charges, plea or sentence from a court record. Criminal details: unconfirmed.

Alyssa D'Urso, Antonella Chiaramonte and Jay Garnock. The court entered final judgments against each on June 5, 2025, enjoining them from future violations, with disgorgement and interest deemed satisfied by restitution orders in the Booth criminal case [1]. We could not confirm their pleas or sentences from an official source. Criminal details: unconfirmed.

Red flags

These are general warning signs of boiler room schemes. They are not findings about any person named here.

• Cold calls about "pre-listed" or exclusive stocks.
• A "broker" who claims to work at a big firm but asks you to wire money to a company you've never heard of.
• Payment instructions that don't match the firm. Real brokerages don't have you send money to an unrelated LLC.
• High pressure and urgency — "this price is only good today."
• Phone numbers or callbacks that don't go through the firm's main line.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Hang up and call the firm yourself using a number from its official website.
2. Check the broker on FINRA's BrokerCheck and the SEC's Investor.gov. Impersonators often borrow real brokers' names, so confirm through the firm.
3. Never wire money to a third-party company for a stock purchase.
4. Report it to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr, to FINRA, and to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Nov. 3, 2026)

Person	Court	Status as of Nov. 3, 2026	Source
Robert Lenard Booth (aka "Trevor Nicholas")	Criminal: S.D.N.Y. 1:21-cr-00652; SEC civil: S.D.N.Y. 22-civ-01115	Convicted by jury April 2022; sentenced to 10 years, $2,003,883 restitution, $780,981.86 forfeiture; deceased; SEC voluntarily dismissed its charges May 30, 2025 because he had died (not a settlement or judgment)	[1], [2]
Michael D'Urso	Same	SEC final judgment June 5, 2025 (injunction; disgorgement deemed satisfied by criminal restitution); reportedly pleaded guilty to three counts, sentenced January 2023 to 42 months	[1], [3]
Daniel T. Wellcome Jr.	SEC civil; criminal 1:22-cr-00196-PKC	SEC final judgment Oct. 9, 2026: $267,404 disgorgement plus $6,090.92 interest, deemed satisfied by criminal restitution; criminal charges and sentence unconfirmed	[1]
Alyssa D'Urso	SEC civil; criminal 1:21-cr-00652	SEC final judgment June 5, 2025, deemed satisfied by criminal restitution order; criminal details unconfirmed	[1]
Antonella Chiaramonte	Same	SEC final judgment June 5, 2025, deemed satisfied by criminal restitution order; criminal details unconfirmed	[1]
Jay Garnock	Same	SEC final judgment June 5, 2025, deemed satisfied by criminal restitution order; criminal details unconfirmed	[1]

Sources

1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Litigation Release No. 26682, SEC v. Booth et al., No. 22-civ-01115 (S.D.N.Y.), Nov. 2, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26682
2. IRS Criminal Investigation, media release on the sentencing of Robert Lenard Booth, Aug. 12, 2022. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-ci/j5-media-release-8-12-2022.pdf
3. Inner City Press, report on the sentencing of Michael D'Urso, Jan. 26, 2023. https://www.innercitypress.com/sdny151hrakoffboothicp012623.html

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