SunWest Management fined $8 million
Oregonlive.com had an article about the $8 million in fines Oregon issued against Sunwest Management, several of its affiliates and former CEO, claiming the chain of assisted living centers misled investors, lied about the true condition of the company and used unlicensed salespeople to sell unregistered securities.
The Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities issued civil penalties of $4.2 million against Jon Harder, co-founder and former CEO of the Salem company. It also levied fines of $3.8 million against Sunwest and several of its affiliate companies. However, Oregon will hold off on collecting the money as long as Harder and the companies comply with the terms of any agreements or orders issued by U.S. District Court or the receiver appointed to oversee the case in March, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Sunwest and Harder making many claims similar to the state's. Harder and his team formed a company for each of the nearly 300 assisted living centers it acquired or built. Numerous subsidiary companies controlled by Harder offered other services. If the state actually recovers any money from Harder or the Sunwest companies, it intends to put the money into a restitution fund for investors.
