Safeguard Metals silver coin fraud

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - State Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced that he and Secretary of State Mark Hammond have reached a Multistate Settlement Agreement with Safeguard Metals.

The settlement follows a 2022 enforcement action that alleged Safeguard and Ikahn targeted retirees in a nationwide, $68 million fraud.

“Safeguard Metals used fraudulent and deceptive practices to solicit millions of dollars from vulnerable retirees, resulting in substantial losses in their retirement accounts,” Wilson said. “South Carolina, along with the CFTC and other state regulators, will continue to hold these bad actors accountable in the precious metals industry.” Secretary Hammond stated, “Today, I am pleased to join Attorney General Wilson and stand up for South Carolinians against this insidious type of financial exploitation.”

The attorney general’s office said Safeguard convinced mostly elderly and retirement-aged people to transfer their retirement savings into one that would allow them to buy silver coins. Safeguard claimed the coins were worth more than the value of the precious metals inside them.

Safeguard represented the typical markup of the coins as 20-23% when they were more than 40% in most cases and sometimes as high as 71%, the attorney general’s office said.
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Multistate settlement reached in silver coin fraud case

State Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced that he and Secretary of State Mark Hammond have reached a Multistate Settlement Agreement with Safeguard Metals.

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Safeguard Metals LLC and Jeffrey Ikahn (f/k/a Jeffrey S. Santulan)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No.26307 / May 9, 2025

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Safeguard Metals LLC and Jeffrey Ikahn (f/k/a Jeffrey S. Santulan), No. 2:22-cv-00693 (C.D. Cal. filed Feb. 1, 2022; amended complaint filed Apr. 5, 2023)

SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against California Company and Its Owner Who Defrauded Elderly Investors in Gold and Silver Coin Scheme

On May 2, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained final judgments against California-based Safeguard Metals LLC and its owner, Jeffrey Ikahn of Tarzana, California. In 2022, the SEC charged Safeguard and Ikahn with operating a multi-million-dollar fraudulent scheme involving the sale of gold and silver coins to hundreds of investors who were at or near retirement age.

The SEC’s amended complaint, filed in the Central District of California, alleged that Safeguard and Ikahn acted as unregistered investment advisers and persuaded investors to sell their existing securities, transfer the proceeds into self-directed Individual Retirement Accounts, and invest the proceeds into gold and silver coins by making false and misleading statements about the safety and liquidity of the investors’ securities holdh3ings, Safeguard’s business, and its compensation. According to the amended complaint, Safeguard and Ikahn also misled investors about Safeguard’s commissions and markups on the coins, charging average markups of approximately 64% on its sales of silver coins. On June 14, 2023, the Court entered partial judgments by consent against Safeguard and Ikahn. The partial judgments permanently enjoined Safeguard and Ikahn from violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.

The Court’s final judgments ordered Safeguard and Ikahn to pay, jointly and severally, $25,569,303 in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, $4,821,263 in prejudgment interest, and $25,569,303 in civil penalties.

The SEC's investigation was conducted by Jedediah B. Forkner and Jean M. Javorski of the SEC's Chicago Regional Office, and was supervised by Anne C. McKinley. The litigation was led by Jonathan S. Polish. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and state regulators that are members of the North American Securities Administrators Association.

SEC.gov | Safeguard Metals LLC and Jeffrey Ikahn (f/k/a Jeffrey S. Santulan)

www.sec.gov