(HedgeCo.Net) A defendant in a SEC enforcement action was sentenced to fifteen months in prison in a parallel criminal case after pleading guilty to charges that he obstructed justice in an investigation conducted by the SEC. Vineet Kalucha, whose sentence was handed down on July 14, will also be placed on supervisory release for 24 months upon completing his prison term.

On May 5, 2014, the SEC filed fraud charges in federal district court against Kalucha, Aphelion Fund Management LLC (“Aphelion”), an unregistered investment advisor Kalucha controlled, and Aphelion’s chief financial officer. The SEC’s complaint alleged that Kalucha fraudulently altered an outside audit firm’s report reviewing the performance of an investment account that Kalucha managed, essentially changing an investment loss into a major investment gain in the account. The complaint further alleged that investors were separately provided false information about Aphelion’s assets under management and Kalucha’s litigation history, and that Kalucha allegedly siphoned investor funds for his luxury car payments and settlements of legal actions against him personally that are unrelated to Aphelion.