Litigation Releases (Parker Terrill Austin; Embarcadero Capital Advisors, Inc.)

On August 19, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California entered final judgments as to Parker Terrill Austin and the investment advisory firm he established, Embarcadero Capital Advisors, Inc., in connection with previously filed fraud charges relating to Austin's efforts to obtain clients for Embarcadero, a firm he planned to launch while employed at a different investment advisory firm.

According to the SEC's complaint , filed on September 10, 2025, starting in 2023, Austin, who intended to leave his then-employer and start his own investment advisory firm, sent on at least one occasion nonpublic personal information belonging to his then-employer's clients to his future business partner at Embarcadero. The complaint also alleged that Austin, while at his former employer, breached his fiduciary duty to a client by placing the client in investments that were contrary to the client's instructions. Upon learning of Austin's misconduct, as alleged, Austin's former employer terminated Austin. Shortly after being terminated, Austin launched his advisory firm, Embarcadero, and, as alleged in the complaint, engaged in a scheme to fraudulently induce clients to join Embarcadero by misrepresenting Austin's disciplinary history and termination at his prior firm on Embarcadero's website and in other publicly available filings Embarcadero was required to make with the SEC.

Without admitting the allegations in the SEC's complaint, Austin and Embarcadero consented to entry of the final judgments, which permanently enjoin them from violating Sections 206(1), 206(2), and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and, with respect to Austin, Rule 10 of Regulation S-P. In addition, the final judgment as to Austin orders him to pay a civil penalty of $118,225, and enjoins him from acting as, or being associated with, any broker, dealer, or investment adviser for a period of three years; and the final judgment as to Embarcadero orders it to pay disgorgement in the amount of $25,000, plus prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of $2,505.06, and a civil penalty in the amount of $120,000.

The SEC's case was handled by Jonathan T. Menitove and Marc J. Jones of the SEC's Boston Regional Office. The matter was supervised by Brianna Ripa and Corey Schuster of the Division of Enforcement's Asset Management Unit.