7/18/12 SEC orders Amish Helping Fund to update info presented to investors

  • By Nick Sabo
  • July 18, 2012
  • 391
                        
A local fund that assists Amish families with purchasing homes has been placed under a deferred agreement by the Security Exchange Commission. The SEC reported Wednesday, July 18 that the Amish Helping Fund has entered into an agreement to update its primary disclosure document, a confidential operating memorandum. The memorandum was drafted in 1995, and now contains outdated information. The memorandum was presented to prospective investors interested in purchasing investment contracts. No harm was caused by the outdated information, according to the SEC. According to the SEC, the Amish Helping Fund has agreed to update the information in the memorandum and will be placed under a deferred prosecution agreement for two years. The agreement gives the SEC additional oversight of the Amish Helping Fund and is intended to prevent further violations, SEC division of enforcement Robert Khuzami said. According to the agreement, the operating memorandum was issued in 1995, the same year the Amish Helping fund was established as a non-profit corporation. Over the years, several statements in the memorandum became outdated and were no longer part of the Amish Helping Fund’s business practices, according to the SEC. At least one statement inaccurately represented the fund’s ability to redeem investments, if the number of redemption requests exceeded a certain level. The memorandum was “factually correct” when issued, according to the SEC. As part of the SEC’s action, the fund was required to offer all investors the right to back out of their agreements. The deferred agreement requires the Amish Helping Fund to cooperate with a certified public account, who will issue an annual audit. The accountant will further issue an opinion as to whether the financial statements issued by the fund are fairly represented. The Amish Helping Fund was established in 1995 and currently has 3,500 investors, 1,200 borrowers and approximately $125 million in mortgage receivables.


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