Litigation Releases (Sterling Capital, LLC)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26562 / June 8, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. John Sterling Myers; Sterling Capital, LLC; and Sterling Capital Management, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-6696 (N.D. Ill. filed June 5, 2026)

SEC Charges Chicago Man and His Companies in Alleged Multi-Million Dollar Investment Fraud

On June 5, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged John Sterling Myers and his two companies, Sterling Capital, LLC ("Sterling Capital") and Sterling Capital Management, LLC ("SCM"), with allegedly engaging in a multi-year fraud.

According to the SEC's complaint, from January 2022 through at least July 2025, the Defendants misappropriated investor money, falsified investor account statements, and engaged in other misconduct while acting as investment advisers to a pooled investment vehicle, Sterling Capital Investments, LLC (the "Fund"). The complaint alleges that Myers began operating this so-called "premier" and "exclusive investment pool" in 2022, through Sterling Capital and SCM, and raised approximately $4 million from approximately 28 investors over several years. The complaint further alleges that unbeknownst to investors, Myers perpetually drained the pool through unsuccessful trading and personal spending, and that over $3.6 million of investors' money is gone. As alleged, Myers sent investors fabricated quarterly account statements depicting accumulated net gains and positive performance beyond that of the S&P 500, and he further concealed the Fund's actual results by failing to issue tax forms to investors, as required by the Fund's offering documents, to inform them of their distributive share of the Fund's losses. Instead, according to the complaint, Myers claimed all trading losses on his own personal tax returns without making any disclosure to Fund investors. Myers allegedly misappropriated at least $1.8 million by diverting Fund assets to his personal financial accounts, through which he engaged in further unsuccessful trading and paid for various personal expenses.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, charges the Defendants with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933; Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder; and Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 206(4) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Rule 206(4)-8 thereunder. The complaint also charges Myers with control person liability pursuant to Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all Defendants.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Dee A. O'Hair, Lee Farnsworth, and Craig McShane and supervised by Amy Flaherty Hartman and Anne McKinley of the SEC's Chicago Regional Office. The litigation will be led by Michael Foster and Ashley Dalmau-Holmes and will be supervised by Eric Phillips, also of the Chicago Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.