SEC Charges Co-Founders and COO of Florida Holding Company with Misappropriating funds

On September 25, 2025, Taino Lopez and Alexander Mehr, co-founders of Retail Ecommerce Ventures LLC (“REV”), along with Chief Operating Officer Maya Burkenroad (collectively referred to as “Defendants”), were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The allegations against the Defendants include engaging in fraudulent securities offerings, misappropriating investor funds, and managing a Ponzi-like scheme that made payments to investors.

According to the SEC’s complaint, REV focused on acquiring distressed retail companies with established brand names and converting them into strictly online businesses. The company operated as the holding entity for the REV retailer brands. From April 2020 through November 2022, Lopez and Mehr raised about $112 million from hundreds of investors through deceptive offerings across eight REV portfolio companies. These companies included well-known brands such as Pier 1 Imports Online, Inc., Dress Barn Online, LLC, Linens ‘N Things Online, Inc., and RadioShack Online, LLC (the “REV Retailer Brands”). The Defendants offered securities in the form of unsecured notes with returns of up to 25% annually and equity (membership units) promising a preferential dividend as high as 2.083% per month. The purpose of these offerings was to secure funds for acquiring retail brands and raise additional operational capital for each specific REV Retailer Brand. However, the complaint states that Lopez and Mehr made false claims during these offerings about the success and profitability of REV’s business model and the REV Retailer Brands, as well as the safety of investors’ investments. The SEC alleges that at least $5.9 million of investor proceeds were shuffled between portfolio companies, in contradiction to the disclosures made to investors about the fund use. Additionally, $5.9 million in returns paid to investors were financed by other investors, resembling a Ponzi scheme, and the Defendants misappropriated around $16.1 million in investor funds for personal benefit.

The SEC filed the complaint against Lopez and Mehr in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, citing violations of Sections 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. Burkenroad was charged with violations of Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(a) and (c). Moreover, Burkenroad was accused of aiding and abetting Lopez’s and Mehr’s violations of Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5(b). The SEC’s complaint seeks permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and officer-and-director bars against each Defendant. It also requests disgorgement and prejudgment interest from Lopez and Mehr.

The SEC’s investigation was carried out by Brian Theophilus James, overseen by Sean M. O’Neill and Glenn S. Gordon, with assistance from Fernado Torres, all from the Miami Regional Office. Litigation will be led by Alise Johnson and Russell Koonin, supervised by Teresa J. Verges, also of the Miami Regional Office.