United States v. Barton Stuck

3:18cr28(JAM)

Case Description:

On February 21, 2018, a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven, Connecticut returned an indictment charging Barton Stuck with one count of wire fraud, one count of engaging in illegal monetary transactions, and two counts of making false statements to the SEC. On October 25, 2018, Barton Stuck entered a guilty plea to all counts of this indictment. Therefore, this will be no trial in this case. According to court documents and statements made in court, Stuck controlled related business entities, including Signal Lake General Partner LLC, Signal Lake Operations LLC, Signal Lake Management LLC, Signal Lake Side Fund LP, Signal Lake Side Fund II LP, Signal Lake Side Fund IIA LP, Signal Lake Top Prospects Fund, and SLT Logic LLC (collectively, the “Signal Lake entities”). The Signal Lake entities were venture capital vehicles investing in various technology companies. Stuck solicited investments for the Signal Lake entities.

In pleading guilty, Stuck admitted that he committed fraud in 2015 and 2016 by, among other things, misrepresenting the financial health and prospects of the Signal Lake entities and their investments in order to enrich himself. In one instance, Stuck made misrepresentations to an undercover FBI agent posing as a prospective investor. Stuck falsely guaranteed a payment of twice the original $500,000 investment, falsely claimed that a Signal Lake entity had $200 million in a particular bank account, and falsely stated that a $50,000 fee would be used for accounting and legal expenses.

Stuck also admitted that he made false statements in forms that he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2016 and 2017. Specifically, Stuck falsely claimed that a Signal Lake entity managed and had a gross asset value of $145 million, and was subject to annual audits by a Stamford accounting firm. On May 27, 2021, Barton Stuck was sentenced to the following: 12 months and 1 day of imprisonment; to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. Stuck must report to prison by June 24, 2021.

Court Documents:

Press Releases:

Westport Man Admits Defrauding Investors, Making False Statements to SEC

Wesport Man Sentenced to Prison for Defrauding Investors, Making False Statements to SEC