Litigation Releases (Gianoplus Consortia LLC; Michael Peter Gianoplus; Traci Leigh Bransford-Marquis)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26522 / April 8, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Gianoplus Consortia LLC, et al., No. 8:26-cv-00993 (M.D. Fla. filed Apr. 7, 2026)

SEC Charges Firm, Its Principal, and Its Escrow Attorney for Allegedly Defrauding Investors Through a Purported High-Yield Investment Program

On April 7, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against Sarasota, Florida resident Michael Peter Gianoplus, the entity he controls, Gianoplus Consortia LLC a/k/a Gianoplus Consortia, LLC, and Houston, Texas resident Traci Leigh Bransford-Marquis for their roles in allegedly defrauding investors in a purported high-yield investment program ("HYIP") offered through Gianoplus Consortia, which raised more than $6 million from at least eight investors.

According to the SEC's complaint, the HYIP claimed to provide investors with access to exclusive overseas platforms trading obscure financial instruments with the promise of extraordinary short-term profits. As alleged, Gianoplus developed the HYIP and personally sourced the investments and Bransford-Marquis served as the escrow attorney and paymaster. The complaint alleges that Gianoplus Consortia's agreements with investors stated that investors' principal funds would be returned after the program concluded, and those funds would be "protected" in Bransford-Marquis's attorney trust accounts. The complaint further alleges that the investor agreements stated that defendants would be compensated from the profits of the program, but, although the program did not generate any profits during the relevant period, defendants nevertheless misappropriated in excess of $2.4 million in principal funds from investors, in direct contravention of the agreements.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, charges Gianoplus Consortia, Gianoplus and Bransford-Marquis 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 SEC's investigation was conducted by Jason Anthony, Michael Flanagan, and Zachary Scrima and was supervised by Paul Pashkoff. The SEC's litigation will be led by Patrick Costello and supervised by David Nasse.

The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has issued investor alerts on the red flags of investment fraud. Additional information is available on Investor.gov.