SEC Charges Former Executives With Fraud in Connection With $1.9 Billion Collapse of Subprime Auto Lender Tricolor

WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following litigation release:

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Securities and Exchange Commission v. Daniel Chu, Jerome Kollar, and Ameryn Seibold, No. 26-civ-7041 (S.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 18, 2026)

On August 18, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Daniel Chu, Jerome Kollar, and Ameryn Seibold, the former CEO, CFO, and Senior Director of Finance, respectively, at Texas-based Tricolor Holdings LLC, for their roles in an alleged multi-year scheme to defraud investors by double pledging hundreds of millions of dollars of subprime auto loans to multiple asset-backed securities (ABS) offerings and lenders.

According to the SEC's complaint, from at least 2020 through Tricolor's bankruptcy in September 2025, Tricolor raised more than $1.9 billion through ABS offerings while Tricolor, Chu, and Kollar made numerous false and misleading representations to investors about the lender's overall financial health, portraying the company as financially sound despite knowing that Tricolor was facing significant liquidity constraints and struggling to fund its operations. In offering materials and meetings, Tricolor allegedly represented that the loans included in the ABS collateral pools were free and clear of any other liens when the defendants knew that many had been or would soon be double pledged. The complaint further alleges that the defendants deceived underwriters and investors, including by manipulating various loan metrics to make non-paying or defaulted loans appear current and therefore eligible for inclusion in the securitization pools. According to the complaint, more than $945 million of principal associated with the ABS offerings remained outstanding and payable to investors at the time of Tricolor's bankruptcy.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced criminal charges against Chu, Kollar, and Seibold in December 2025.

The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charges Chu, Kollar and Seibold with violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint also charges Chu with control person liability pursuant to Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties against all the defendants, as well as officer and director bars against Chu and Kollar.

The SEC's investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by George Carotenuto, Thomas Keltner, and Zachary Sturges, and supervised by Armita Cohen and Eric Werner of the Division of Enforcement's Complex Financial Instruments Unit. The SEC's litigation is being conducted by Abigail Rosen and supervised by Alexander Vasilescu of the SEC's New York Regional Office.

The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the FBI, and the FDIC Office of Inspector General.

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Resources

* SEC Complaint (https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2026/comp-pr2026-77.pdf)

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Original text here: https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26612