Female Beverage Company Sued By SEC after Defrauding Investors

The SHE Beverage Company, a Southern California-based company, is the target of a lawsuit after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleges the company defrauded investors out of millions of dollars.

The 2015-founded company gained success for being a “celebrity-driven” beverage company. A factor of its appeal was that the company targeted female consumers, offering an array of wines and beer. The company also touted a bottled water lineup that was for “health conscious” individuals.

The lawsuit was filed earlier this week and alleges that SHE collected over $15 million from more than 2,000 investors. The money raised came from unregistered stock sales that took place between 2017 and 2019 after the company falsely promoted its success and business plan. The unregistered stock sales came from several states as well as from unaccredited investors. The company also conducted fundraising through online solicitation. According to the complaint, the company offered “referrals, two for one [deals] and other bonuses.” During solicitation, the company would also hype potential investors up by throwing out “last chance to invest pre IPO” offerings.

Named in the suit are the company’s top executives including its principals, Lupe L. Rose, Sonja F. Shelby, and Katherine E. Dirden. Among the allegations is that the company spent roughly 2% of the money collected from investors on beverage inventory instead of the 30% they promised. Instead, money that should have been used to buy beverage inventory was used for personal benefit. The SEC alleges that the three misappropriated at least $7.5 million. The complaint explains that at least $1.2 million was spent at casinos with additional money spent buying trucks, cars, and other luxury items. Officials claim that at least some of the money was used to make rent payments for a home.

Along with squandering funds, the company is accused of misleading investors by touting false claims. Among those claims was that the company had launched its own brewery although the project’s construction was never completed.

The company also touted that it had different offers from buyers seeking to purchase their brand. Executives told investors that offers ranged from 120 million to 500 million dollars. However, the SEC claims that this was a false statement. Other false statements include that their bottled water was “FDA approved” and that its water was “proprietary.” The company also touted that it had an imminent IPO release date. However, the SEC claims that these were all falsehoods issued to sway investors.

In an emailed statement to Yahoo News earlier this week, the company responded to the allegations. "We have reviewed the complaint and we look forward to correcting the record and proving that the allegations are inaccurate in open court," shared Jonathan Bletzacker, the attorney representing SHE and its executives.

In the lawsuit, the SEC is asking for civil fines along with recoupment of the fraudulently obtained funds. The SEC is also seeking that the individual defendants in the case face officer and director bans.