Lake Oswego Company Being Sued by SEC Could Be Problem For UO, OSU

A new report in Non-Profit Quarterly raises questions about donations to the University of Oregon and Oregon State University by two officials of a Lake Oswego firm being sued by the Security and Exchange Commission.

Aequitas Capital Management is accused of having been a classic Ponzi scheme by the SEC.

NPQ says the former CEO of Aequitas, a UO alum, and the company's former vice-president, a graduate of OSU, made sizable donations including offers of scholarships to finance students.

"All of that will grind to a halt as a receiver has been appointed by the federal court to rescue as much of investors’ funds as possible by closing dozens of Aequitas-created subsidiaries and investment funds," the magazine reports.

"And when that happens, there is every possibility that the court will also try to “claw back” some of those donated dollars."

The magazine reports "the total that had been donated by the two men is not yet known, but UO has spent all the money Aequitas has donated. As yet, OSU officials were unable to provide a current accounting of what had been given."