SEC v. James Thomas Bramlette, et al. (2018)
Judgment entered
Checked against the primary document on October 4, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.
In September 2018 the SEC sued James Bramlette, Anthony Hartman and associated entities in Utah over an alleged scheme selling notes to investors. By February 10, 2021 judgments were in place against Bramlette and Pelorus Group by default and against Hartman and two of his companies, with earlier judgments against Wernli and Kozlowski; the status of the Entelecus Fund was not found.
The record
| Agency | SEC |
|---|---|
| Release number | LR-24289 |
| Date filed | 2018-09-27 |
| Date resolved | 2021-02-10 |
| Status | judgment |
| Criminal parallel | No |
| Defendants | James Thomas Bramlette ; The Pelorus Group, LLC ; Anthony Mark Hartman ; Private Placement Capital Notes II, LLC ; Stone Mountain Equities, LLC ; Travis Kozlowski ; Entelecus Fund, LLC ; Aaron John Wernli |
| Cited as charged or alleged | Exchange Act s.10(b) and Rule 10b-5 ; Securities Act s.17(a) |
| Techniques |
What was ordered
- Civil penalty
- $40k
- Disgorgement
- —
- Prejudgment interest
- —
- Total relief
- $40k
- Alleged gain
- —
What is alleged to have happened
The SEC announced the case on September 27, 2018 (LR-24289), filed in the District of Utah. It alleges that investors were promised returns up to 24% for an uninhabitable resort already in foreclosure whose owners had lost it, while Bramlette spent investor money on luxuries. The complaint charges violations of Section 17(a) and Section 10(b). Wernli, who is cooperating, settled without admitting or denying; the others are contesting.
The record had no defendants and showed the matter as settled, though only Wernli settled. The defendants are now listed, the status is filed and the $40,000 penalty is Wernli's. The Ponzi tag is removed because the release describes a resort investment fraud with payments to investors as one use of the money.
Outcome as shown in the judgments read. Aaron Wernli consented to a final judgment on October 5, 2018 that included a $40,000 civil penalty. Travis Kozlowski's final judgment of April 29, 2019 ordered $214,000 in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and a $184,767 civil penalty. On February 10, 2021 the District of Utah entered a default judgment against James Bramlette and The Pelorus Group making them jointly liable for $2,000,000 in disgorgement plus $225,561.87 in interest and ordering a $2,000,000 penalty against each of them. The same day a civil judgment against Anthony Hartman, Stone Mountain Equities and Private Placement Capital Notes II found Hartman liable for $5,696,753 in disgorgement and $642,485.15 in interest, Stone Mountain for $3,418,851 plus interest and PPCN for $2,277,902 plus interest, with penalties in the same amounts as the disgorgement figures; an amended Hartman judgment was posted later and was not read. Because liability is partly joint, no single combined money total is recorded. Entelecus Fund, LLC was not checked, and the default and later judgments rest on court findings rather than admissions.
Timeline
- 2018-09-27 Litigation release published
- 2018-10-05 Final judgment as to Aaron Wernli (civil penalty $40,000)
- 2019-04-29 Final judgment as to Travis Kozlowski
- 2021-02-10 Default judgment against Bramlette and Pelorus; civil judgment against Hartman, Stone Mountain and PPCN
Primary documents
Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.