SEC Accuses Ex-LN Exec Of Fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission on June 15 charged Brian Ourand, a former president of Live Nation-owned SFX Financial Advisory Management Enterprises, of defrauding three clients of at least $675,000 between 2006 and 2011.

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One of those clients, believed to be ex-heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson, lost $300,000 in the alleged scheme. SEC documents don’t name specific clients, but Tyson filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court in Feb. 2013 accusing Ourand and the company. SFX Financial and chief compliance officer Eugene Mason agreed to settlements in which they will pay penalties of $150,000 and $25,000 respectively to the SEC for compliance failures and other oversight issues, according to agency filings. Ourand, however, was terminated by Live Nation in 2011 and the SEC continues to pursue him on fraud charges on an in-house basis.

Tyson sued Ourand and SFX in 2013, accusing Ourand of embezzling more than $300,000. The case was dismissed with prejudice in February after arbitration. A judge previously ruled Tyson’s contract required an arbitration of disputes. According to SEC documents, Ourand allegedly wrote checks to either himself or to “cash” from three client accounts. In some cases, the agency says, he wired unauthorized amounts of cash to himself for personal use. Mason, according to the SEC, discovered in July 2011 that “Ourand had misappropriated assets when a client complained that he could not use one of his credit cards. SFX and Mason promptly conducted an internal investigation.

Ultimately, SFX terminated Ourand and reported his conduct to the criminal authorities.” SFX Financial Advisory Management is a “legacy” acquisition of Live Nation’s earliest incarnation as Robert Sillerman’s SFX Entertainment – not to be confused with Robert Sillerman’s SFX Entertainment of today. That company was sold to Clear Channel Communications in 2000 and in turn was spun off to become Live Nation in 2005. SFX Financial is a registered investment advisory firm based in Washington, D.C., and originally registered with the commission in 1992. It specializes in providing advisory and financial management services to high net-worth individuals, particularly professional athletes.

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