Everett C. Miller pleaded guilty to securities fraud after he sold more than $41 million in phony, unregistered promissory notes in his firm, Carr Miller Capital, LLC, that falsely promised high returns with no risk. As part of his plea, Miller and the government stipulated to what they considered to be an appropriate offense level under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (the “Guidelines”). At sentencing, however, the district court applied the four-level investment adviser enhancement provided for by the Guidelines for securities laws violations perpetrated by “investment advisers,” as that term is defined by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, 15 U.S.C. § 80b-2(a)(11). See U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(19)(A)(iii). Due to the enhancement, Miller received a 120-month sentence.
On appeal, Miller challenged, among other things, the application of the investment adviser enhancement, arguing that he was not an “investment adviser” under the Investment Advisers Act. The Investment Adviser Act defines “investment adviser,” in part, as a person who “for compensation engages in the business of advising others . . . as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities.” 15 U.S.C. § 80b-2(a)(11). Miller argued that he was not “in the business” of providing securities advice; he did not provide advice “for compensation”; and he was not a registered investment adviser.
The Third Circuit first ruled that Miller was in the business of providing securities advice. In so concluding, the Third Circuit looked to a 1987 SEC interpretive release (the “SEC Release”) that stated the SEC considers a person who “holds himself out as an investment adviser or as one who provides investment advice” to be in “in the business.” Applying that guidance, the Third Circuit found that Miller was in the business of providing securities advice because he held himself out as an investment adviser in personal meetings with investors and because he was associated with a registered investment adviser.
The Third Circuit also relied on the SEC Release to conclude that Miller provided the advice “for compensation.” The SEC Release defines compensation as “any economic benefit, whether in the form of an advisory fee or some other fee relating to the total services rendered, commissions or some combination of the foregoing.” The Third Circuit found that the investors’ principal on the promissory notes “became Miller’s compensation—his ‘economic benefit’—when he comingled investors’ accounts and spent the money for his own purposes.”
Finally, the Third Circuit rejected Miller’s argument that he could not be considered an “investment adviser” solely based upon his association with an investment adviser. The Third Circuit ruled that “[r]egistration is not necessary to be an ‘investment adviser’ under the Act” and thus “Miller was an ‘investment adviser’ under the Act, despite his failure to register as such.”
Given the facts of this case, and the interpretative guidance on which the Court relied, the decision does not come as a surprise.