SEC Accuses Tech Startup Duo Of $13M Fraud Scheme

Law360 (August 20, 2021, 12:57 PM EDT) — A fintech startup’s founder and a business ally raised nearly $13 million from investors by sweet-talking them with empty promises about rock-solid business deals in Central and South America, the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday in a lawsuit.

In a civil suit filed in Massachusetts federal court, securities regulators said Florida resident Joshua Dax Cabrera — the founder and CEO of Medsis International Inc. — and Massachusetts businessman Paul Hess ran a fraud over five years on more than 160 investors in the company, which held itself out as a database and financial payments startup.