Imerindo had advertised that its “Guaranteed Fixed Rate Deposit Account” (GFRDA) would be invested in “high quality, short-term deposits” that would produce a “fixed-rate of interest for a fixed-term.” Instead, these funds were invested in risky dot com ventures, and the fund lost large sums after the 2000 dot-com bust, which meant that Amerindo couldn’t repay the investors, costing investors millions of dollars.

Separately, Amerindo investor Lily Cates, mother of actress Phoebe Cates, invested $5 million in the “Amerindo Small Business Investment Company” venture, but most of her investment was rerouted to pay for Amerindo’s business expenses, donated to various charities to which Vilar had made pledges that he couldn’t afford, and to pay a settlement from a former client who was suing Amerindo about the GFRDA account. In September 2003, Vilar ordered an employee to copy Cates’ signature onto a document that purported to authorize a $250,000 transfer, with most of that money going into Vilar’s personal account. In 2005, Cates filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding Vilar and Amerindo.During the investigation, Vilar lied to the SEC, claiming that Cates wasn’t a client and that he did not own the Panamanian subsidiary.