SEC charges three Toms River men over $47 million affinity fraud aimed at Orthodox Jewish investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Aug. 13 sued three residents of Toms River, New Jersey, alleging they ran an affinity fraud that pulled in roughly $47 million from more than 87 investors, most of them members of Orthodox Jewish communities in New Jersey and New York.

According to the complaint, filed in federal court in the District of New Jersey, Leor Moshe told investors between about November 2019 and June 2023 that money placed with his company, Capital Funding ASAP LLC, would fund short-term loans to small businesses and pay significant fixed returns. The SEC alleges Moshe instead took more than $11 million for personal use and paid out more than $850,000 to earlier investors in Ponzi-like fashion.

The agency further alleges Moshe paid two other Toms River residents, Jacob Goldman and Isaac Odes, to bring in investors. Neither was registered as a broker-dealer or associated with one, the SEC says; together they solicited more than $23 million from at least 25 investors, negotiated terms and helped collect the money. Investors in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Ohio lost more than $25 million, per the complaint.

Thomas P. Smith, Jr., associate director of the SEC's New York Regional Office, said the defendants "promised some investors that they could see returns in excess of thirty percent," and that the three "took advantage of their relationships within Orthodox Jewish communities."

Moshe is charged with violating the antifraud provisions; Goldman and Odes with violating the broker registration provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The SEC seeks injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest and civil penalties, plus a conduct-based injunction against Moshe. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced parallel criminal charges against Moshe the same day; the FBI assisted.

Key facts

• ~$47 million raised from more than 87 investors, Nov. 2019–June 2023 (SEC complaint).
• More than $11 million allegedly misappropriated; more than $850,000 in Ponzi-like payments (SEC).
• Goldman and Odes: more than $23 million from at least 25 investors, unregistered (SEC).
• Investor losses: more than $25 million across seven states (SEC).
• Criminal charges against Moshe only, filed by the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey (per the SEC's announcement).

The real-world read

These are allegations, untested in court, and the account so far is the enforcing agency's — none of the three has responded publicly, and the complaint is the government's version of events.

Two things stand out. First, the arithmetic is incomplete: $47 million raised against $11 million taken personally and $850,000 recycled to earlier investors leaves a large gap the announcement doesn't account for, and it doesn't say how much, if anything, is recoverable. Second, the case ends in June 2023 and the charges land in August 2026 — a three-year lag the SEC doesn't explain.

Also unsaid: whether Goldman and Odes face criminal exposure. The SEC's parallel-action note names only Moshe.

Despite the venue, nothing in the complaint describes digital assets. This is an old-fashioned promissory-note pitch — fixed returns, trusted community, no registered intermediary.

Opinion, and whose

The only characterization on record is Smith's, for the SEC: the 30%-plus returns "definitely falls into the 'if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is' category." That is a regulator's framing of its own case, not a finding.

Sources

• SEC, press release 2026-74 (Aug. 13, 2026) — primary source for all figures, dates, charges and the Smith quote; links the underlying complaint. It is a law-enforcement announcement of unproven allegations.
• The U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey's parallel announcement is referenced by the SEC but its own filing was not reviewed here.

No marketing or sponsored material was involved in this report.

Not financial advice.