A Texas investment promoter allegedly promised double-digit monthly returns and raised approximately $10 million from more than 400 people. Now the FBI is offering up to $150,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Imer Gomez, 29, formerly of San Antonio, is accused of giving investors statements showing steadily increasing balances even though federal regulators say he never created their trading accounts or invested their money in securities. Some of the people who entrusted him with savings and retirement funds were working-class residents of Central and South Texas.
The FBI added Gomez to its Most Wanted Fraudsters list on October 13, 2026. A federal grand jury had indicted him on one wire fraud count in July 2025, and agents believe he may be living near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Gomez and one of his investment businesses over the alleged scheme. Its complaint describes the promises used to attract clients, the way their deposits were spent, and a supposed bailout loan that never materialized. Gomez has not been convicted in the criminal case.
More Than 400 Investors Were Promised Double-Digit Returns
Between 2021 and 2024, Gomez allegedly solicited approximately $10 million through K&G Investment Solutions LLC, Helios Venture Capital Group LLC and Helios Venture Fund LLC. FBI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Daniel Faith said more than 400 people invested, many from the San Antonio area and surrounding communities.
The SEC complaint describes Gomez as a self-identified professional gambler with no known experience managing securities for clients. Regulators say he initially used the K&G name and later shifted his purported investment advisory business to Helios. Customers were offered separately managed portfolios that supposedly traded stocks and exchange-traded funds, with different packages ranging from long-term growth to aggressive day trading.
Some clients were also told their accounts carried insurance protecting up to 75% of their portfolio value against specified catastrophic market losses. When one investor asked for proof in 2023, the SEC alleges, Gomez said he was not legally permitted to provide it. Regulators found that the promised account insurance had never been obtained.
A Claimed 40% Gain Helped Bring in Another $75,000
One investor’s experience illustrates how the alleged returns helped bring in more money. According to the San Antonio Express-News, which reviewed the federal indictment, a man gave Gomez a $10,000 check in September 2022 believing the money would be invested in Bitcoin and stocks.
About a month later, Gomez allegedly supplied a performance report claiming the account had grown by more than 40%. The investor then contributed an additional $75,000. Prosecutors contend the apparent profits were fabricated and that the funds were used for Gomez’s benefit and payments to earlier investors.
The SEC describes a similar practice across the purported investment accounts. Instead of detailed brokerage statements identifying actual purchases and sales, customers allegedly received short emails listing balances that repeatedly increased. The agency says those numbers were invented, encouraging some clients to invest again and existing customers to recommend the businesses to friends and relatives.
SEC Says Investors’ Money Never Reached Trading Accounts
Clients signed investment management agreements that described individualized trading accounts. Their deposits, however, went to bank accounts controlled by Gomez, according to the SEC. Payments arrived through cash, checks, wires, bank transfers, credit cards and services including PayPal and Zelle.
Regulators allege that the client money was commingled and that no customer funds were transferred to a trading platform. They say Gomez neither opened the separate client accounts described in his agreements nor purchased securities for customers.
During the SEC’s narrower review period, from August 2021 through September 2023, investigators identified approximately $9 million in client deposits. That amount overlaps with the FBI’s later approximately $10 million figure covering conduct through 2024. The figures describe different periods, not separate pools of money to add together.
Investor Deposits Allegedly Paid Earlier Clients and Reached Former Girlfriend’s Family
Rather than financing securities trades, the SEC alleges the money went toward payments to existing investors, Gomez’s personal expenses, unrelated business ventures, employee compensation, referral commissions and cash withdrawals. Payments to earlier participants using new deposits can make an investment operation appear profitable even when it has no trading revenue.
Regulators also identified approximately $666,000 in commingled client funds transferred to Eric and Heather Claxton. Eric is the father of Gomez’s former girlfriend. The total includes $100,000 that Eric Claxton had originally invested and later received back, followed by additional transfers the SEC says provided funds used in part to purchase real estate.
The agency named the Claxtons as relief defendants in its civil complaint and sought recovery of money it alleged they received without a legitimate claim. They were not named as operators of the alleged investment scheme or charged with Gomez’s federal wire fraud offense.
Gomez Claimed a Sudden Collapse and Promised a Bailout
By September 2023, clients were having difficulty getting their money back. On September 19, Gomez sent a letter saying Helios had suffered a sudden, unrecoverable liquidation. He declined to explain what caused it, citing a nondisclosure agreement, according to the SEC.
The same letter claimed that Helios had secured a guaranteed bailout loan to repay customers. Gomez said the lender’s commitment was firm and promised that investors would receive their original capital by February 1, 2024.
Regulators contend the sudden collapse was simply the point at which new deposits were no longer sufficient to keep the alleged operation going. Although Gomez met with a prospective lender, the SEC says he never obtained a bailout loan or supplied the financial documents needed for the lender to complete its review.
Federal Wire Fraud Charge Followed the SEC Lawsuit
On July 14, 2025, the SEC filed a civil enforcement action in the Western District of Texas, case 5:25-cv-00805, accusing Gomez and Helios Venture Fund of securities fraud and investment adviser misconduct. The agency sought injunctions, disgorgement of allegedly improper gains, interest and civil penalties. The Claxtons were named separately for potential recovery of funds.
Two days later, a federal grand jury indicted Gomez on one count of wire fraud. The FBI said the indictment was initially sealed and later unsealed. A conviction on the criminal charge could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years; no such sentence has been imposed.
The SEC case continued while Gomez remained difficult to locate. In a July 15, 2026 court order, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez authorized alternative service after regulators described unsuccessful efforts to reach him. The Express-News subsequently reported that the court clerk entered a default after Gomez failed to respond. A clerk’s default in a civil lawsuit is not a criminal conviction.
FBI Offers Up to $150,000 for Information Leading to Gomez
The FBI’s October 13 announcement placed Gomez on the Most Wanted Fraudsters list, a program launched in June 2026 for people sought in major fraud investigations. It is separate from the bureau’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
The wanted notice identifies Gomez as a dual citizen of the United States and Mexico and lists the aliases Imer Abraham Gomez, Abe Gomez and Imer Tovar. Investigators believe he may be near Puerto Vallarta, although his whereabouts have not been confirmed.
The reward of up to $150,000 is offered for information leading to his arrest and conviction. Anyone with information can call 1-800-225-5324, contact a local FBI office or the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, or send a tip through tips.fbi.gov. The bureau says tipsters may remain anonymous.
How to Check an Investment Adviser and Claimed Account Profits
The SEC’s Investor.gov warns that unusually consistent returns, secretive strategies, unlicensed sellers, inadequate statements and difficulty withdrawing funds are warning signs of Ponzi schemes. Investors should verify a professional’s registration through Investor.gov’s investment professional background-check tool before transferring money.
When someone claims to manage a personal investment account, request statements issued by the actual brokerage or custodian showing holdings and trades, rather than relying solely on emails from the promoter. Verify any claimed account insurance directly with the insurer or institution said to provide it. Keep contracts, payment receipts, statements and correspondence if an investment cannot be verified or money cannot be withdrawn.
Suspected securities fraud can be reported through the SEC’s tip and complaint system. Victims of internet-enabled investment schemes can also contact the FBI through IC3.gov.