Litigation Releases (Ellen Polcari)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26642 / September 18, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ellen Polcari, No. 26-civ-12318 (D.N.J. filed Sept. 18, 2026)

SEC Charges Former Employee of Venture Capital Firms for Misappropriation of Investor Money

On September 18, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Ellen Polcari-a former employee of two venture capital firms under common ownership, each of which advised several private funds ("the funds")-with allegedly orchestrating a fraudulent scheme through which she misappropriated money invested in certain of the funds.

According to the SEC's complaint, from at least April 2023 until March 2025, certain of the funds collectively raised approximately $28.67 million from at least 85 investors, and Polcari misappropriated approximately $1.28 million of that investor money. The complaint alleges that, to execute her scheme, Polcari communicated with prospective investors about participating in the funds' securities offerings, directed interested investors to wire their investments to bank accounts that she controlled, and generally began misappropriating portions of those investments upon receipt or shortly thereafter. The complaint further alleges that Polcari fraudulently transferred to herself certain stock shares that belonged to one of the funds and then sold most of those shares to a third-party purchaser for $56,000.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, charges Polcari with violating Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and a conduct-based injunction.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Benjamin Mishkin and Daphne Downes, and supervised by Lindsay Moilanen and Thomas P. Smith, Jr., all of the SEC's New York Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Paul G. Gizzi and Mr. Mishkin under the supervision of Jack Kaufman.