US regulators have brought two cases against private fund advisers accused of misleading investors over access to pre-IPO shares in companies including OpenAI, SpaceX, xAI and Kraken.
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleges that millions of dollars raised from individual investors, including Navy veterans, were misdirected or misappropriated. The companies named in the cases, and their executives, are not accused of wrongdoing.
In one case, the SEC sued Owen Meyer, 35, and his firm Meyer Global Management in federal court in Manhattan. It alleges that Meyer raised at least $18.5 million from almost 100 investors and misappropriated at least $1.27 million.
The regulator claims Meyer established 16 funds intended to acquire stakes in individual private companies, most commonly Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
One OpenAI fund allegedly never obtained shares in the company. Although Meyer testified that an agreement to acquire OpenAI assets had collapsed in March 2024, six investors paid almost $1.1 million into the fund the following month. They were allegedly not told for about six months that no investment had been made.
The SEC also claims Meyer charged about $168,000 in fees, more than three times the amount agreed with investors, with some of the money allegedly spent on landscaping at his home in Setauket, New York. Just $15,600 remained in the fund, according to the regulator.
Meyer is further accused of telling investors in 2021 that a large purchase of SpaceX assets had completed, despite the third-party fund holding the shares refusing to approve their transfer. The SEC alleges that about $570,000 was subsequently misappropriated, including $100,000 for an investment in an exotic-car company and $220,000 transferred to Meyer’s personal bank account.
The regulator alleges that, when three other SpaceX funds were liquidated in 2025, Meyer moved about $636,000 intended for investors into his personal account. He allegedly spent thousands of pounds’ worth of dollars at Bloomingdale’s and Amazon and sent $86,000 to his father. About $13.1 million was ultimately returned to investors after the liquidation, the SEC said.
In a further allegation, the SEC said Meyer used fund money intended to buy shares in online casino operator Playstar in transactions connected to a strip club. It claims that, after a payment card linked to his firm was declined, he transferred $10,000 from an account containing investor money and paid $4,400 and $3,650 at the club.
The regulator said the payments were recorded as covering drinks and “entertainment room rental fees”. Meyer allegedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights when questioned about a separate $10,000 transfer, which the SEC characterised as an undisclosed interest-free loan. The Playstar investors eventually received their money back, it said.
Second fund accused of false private-company holdings
In a separate case, the SEC and federal prosecutors charged former naval officer Christopher Dinelli, 34, and Jacob Frankel, 32, over an alleged scheme involving their firm, Beyond Alpha Ventures.
Authorities allege that the pair defrauded 35 investors of more than $8.7 million by marketing a trading fund with “153%” net returns and supposed pre-IPO investments in cryptocurrency exchange Kraken and artificial intelligence company SandboxAQ.
The fund’s marketing materials allegedly listed SpaceX and xAI as holdings, although the funds never invested in either company. The SEC claims the trading fund lost money in 13 of 14 months, while less than half of the nearly $6 million raised for pre-IPO investments was put into such deals. Much of the remainder was allegedly lost through options trading.
Investors were allegedly sent false statements, including one that Dinelli is accused of hand-delivering to a Navy veteran couple which claimed their $750,000 investment had grown to $4.1 million.
The SEC alleges that Dinelli misappropriated more than $1 million, including $250,000 invested in a documentary film. Frankel allegedly misappropriated more than $340,000, including money used for trades in accounts he controlled and to pay his criminal defence lawyer.
Frankel denied the allegations in a telephone interview, calling them “completely false” and saying the “truth will come out in court”. He said he had terminated Dinelli “two years ago” and blamed him for the allegations.
The SEC’s complaint states that Dinelli remained chairman of Beyond Alpha Ventures until July 2025. Dinelli did not respond to a request for comment.
Frankel was convicted in March 2026 of grand larceny and identity theft. The SEC alleges that he concealed the conviction from regulators in required disclosures. He also faces allegations of investment adviser fraud and making false statements about his record and a Finra suspension.
Prosecutors have charged Dinelli and Frankel with securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy. The SEC is seeking to bar Meyer from the industry, as well as recover money and impose penalties.
