Litigation Releases (Mayur Baviskar)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26618 / August 26, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Mayur Baviskar

, No. 5:26-CV-00600-BO (E.D.N.C. filed Aug. 25, 2026)

SEC Files Settled Action as to North Carolina Trader Charged in Fraudulent "Free-Riding" Scheme

On August 25, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a settled action alleging that Mayur Baviskar, of Morrisville, North Carolina, engaged in a fraudulent "free-riding" scheme through which he withdrew $6,078.16 in trading profits that he made from purchasing and selling over $1.4 million in securities without having sufficient funds to pay for the trades.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, alleged that between March 2019 and September 2024, Baviskar initiated $377,200 of unfunded deposits into brokerage accounts at nine different broker-dealers exploiting the instant credit extended by these broker-dealers pending the completion of supposedly incoming deposits to Baviskar's brokerage accounts. As alleged, Baviskar knowingly initiated transfers from bank accounts that lacked sufficient funds to cover the deposits, and placed stop-payment orders on transfers drawn against bank accounts that had sufficient funds. According to the complaint, the broker-dealers would not have extended instant deposit credit to Baviskar, or allowed him to conduct trades in the brokerage accounts, if they knew that his bank transfers would be reversed. Ultimately, as alleged, the deposits were reversed when the broker-dealers rejected them for insufficient funds or when Baviskar placed stop-payment orders.

Without admitting the allegations in the SEC's complaint, Baviskar consented to the entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, which would permanently enjoin him from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The final judgment, if approved by the court, also would impose a conduct-based injunction against Baviskar, and order him to pay disgorgement of $6,078.16, prejudgment interest of $1,914.41, and a civil penalty of $50,000.00.

The investigation was conducted by Mark Eric Harrison under the supervision of Thomas B. Bosch and Justin Jeffries, with assistance from trial counsel Robert Schroeder under the supervision of M. Graham Loomis, all of the SEC's Atlanta Regional Office.