Litigation Releases (Matthew M. Motil, et al.)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26462 / January 16, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Matthew M. Motil et al., No. 23-cv-1853 (N.D. Ohio filed Sept. 25, 2023)

SEC Obtains Final Consent Judgment as to Podcast Host Charged with Offering Fraud

On January 13, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final consent judgment in the SEC's enforcement action against defendant Matthew Motil.

The SEC's complaint, filed on September 25, 2023 in federal district court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, alleged that Motil defrauded investors of millions of dollars with promises of low-risk, high return promissory notes purportedly fully collateralized by first mortgages on homes located throughout Ohio. According to the complaint, the promissory notes were not, in fact, fully collateralized by first mortgages, and Motil used investor money to make Ponzi payments to prior investors and to pay personal expenses.

Motil consented to entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating the registration requirements of Section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933, as well as the anti-fraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; permanently enjoining him from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security outside of certain transactions for his personal account; and ordering him to pay disgorgement of $2,967,535, plus prejudgment interest thereon of $340,396, which shall be deemed satisfied by the restitution order entered against Motil in the parallel criminal case, United States v. Matthew M. Motil, No. 24-cr-289 (N.D. Ohio filed Aug. 12, 2024). On July 18, 2025, the criminal court sentenced Motil to 70 months in prison and ordered him to pay restitution of $5,040,862.

The SEC's investigation was supervised by Jeff Leasure, and the SEC's litigation was led by John Timmer under the supervision of James Carlson. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio, and the State of Ohio Division of Securities.