(Indianapolis, IN) – The Indiana Secretary of State’s Securities Division has issued a cease-and-desist order to a Brookville man who owns a pickleball apparel and equipment company – asking him to stop an alleged investment scheme.
Rodney Grubbs is accused of misrepresenting the true size and nature of the investment opportunities he allegedly made to local pickleball players through All About Pickleball LLC, also known as “Pickleball Rocks.”
The petition alleges that Grubbs, personally and through his companies, solicited investments in the form of promissory notes from investors.
The notes Grubbs allegedly sold contained a high interest rate of 12% compounded monthly and contained an 18% penalty provision in the case of default. ‘
As part of the scheme, Grubbs is alleged to have encouraged investors to roll over the investment into a new one, thereby avoiding default and avoiding paying any of the investors their returns.
The Secretary of State’s office says Grubbs used pickleball tournaments to meet and solicit investors and told them at the time the money they invested would be used to grow his company by allowing him to buy more inventory.
Grubbs allegedly told multiple investors that the slot was the last available one, which authorities say is a misrepresentation of the size and true nature of the investment opportunity.
The Secretary of State’s office says many of Grubbs’ investors have not been repaid.
The Indiana Uniform Securities Act requires most people selling investments to be registered to do so.
Secretary of State Diego Morales reminds Hoosier investors to remain vigilant when making investments and to utilize resources on the Indiana Securities Division website to research whether the security or the person offering to sell securities are properly registered.
“In most securities transactions, the duty is on the seller of the security to make all the proper disclosures to the buyer regarding the investment. To do otherwise can lead to criminal or civil violations of Indiana Law. These duties exist to protect Hoosier investors and ensure transparency in securities transactions,” Morales said.
Information about registrations can be found on the Indiana Secretary of State Securities Division’s website at https://securities.sos.in.gov/ under the Registrations tab.
