Key Takeaways
- • Maryland's Attorney General Securities Division settled with Middle Class United, Incorporated (MCU), a company that marketed unlawful investment contracts disguised as "memberships" to over 6,500 investors across the U.S.
- • Four MCU executives—Spencer Lutgring, Joseph Madden, Jeremy Powell, and Jarod Wetzel—entered into consent orders as part of the settlement; founder and promoter Joseph Redden declined to settle and faces an enforcement action with opportunity to respond.
- • MCU founder Redden, a social media personality known as "the Older Millennial," pitched the scheme as a middle-class hedge fund alternative, falsely claiming that regulatory accreditation requirements barred ordinary investors from hedge fund participation, then rebranded it as a "cooperative" to circumvent regulatory oversight.
- • The scheme exploited social media as the primary distribution channel to reach retail investors seeking wealth-building opportunities, representing a case study in unregistered securities distribution through digital platforms.
Summary
Maryland's Attorney General Securities Division has reached a settlement with Middle Class United, Incorporated (MCU), resolving charges that the company orchestrated an unlawful investment contract scheme affecting more than 6,500 investors nationwide. The settlement addresses MCU's use of social media platforms to promote and sell unregistered investment products marketed as "memberships" rather than securities.
Joseph Redden, MCU's founder and principal promoter, operates as a social media personality under the moniker "the Older Millennial." According to the Securities Division, Redden pitched an investment program ostensibly designed to provide middle-class access to hedge fund-like returns. Central to his marketing pitch was a false premise: that existing regulations prevented non-accredited investors from participating in hedge funds. Redden positioned MCU as a solution to this purported regulatory barrier, initially framing the opportunity as a middle-class hedge fund. When Redden discovered that operating as a legitimate hedge fund would require regulatory oversight and compliance, he restructured the offering and rebranded it as a "cooperative" to evade securities regulation requirements.
Four executives connected to MCU—Spencer Lutgring (Lehi, Utah), Joseph Madden (Ocean Springs, Mississippi), Jeremy Powell (Draper, Utah), and Jarod Wetzel (Lehi, Utah)—have entered into consent orders under the settlement terms. Redden, however, declined to execute a consent order. The Securities Division consequently issued an order to show cause against Redden, initiating formal enforcement proceedings and granting him an opportunity to respond to allegations. According to Maryland Attorney General Brown, MCU "used social media to sell false promises and then pocket their clients' money," targeting investors seeking to secure their financial futures through what they believed were legitimate investment vehicles.
This enforcement action underscores regulatory focus on the deployment of social media platforms for distributing unregistered securities and highlights vulnerabilities in retail investor protection as investment marketing migrates to digital channels.
Joseph Redden, MCU's founder and principal promoter, operates as a social media personality under the moniker "the Older Millennial." According to the Securities Division, Redden pitched an investment program ostensibly designed to provide middle-class access to hedge fund-like returns. Central to his marketing pitch was a false premise: that existing regulations prevented non-accredited investors from participating in hedge funds. Redden positioned MCU as a solution to this purported regulatory barrier, initially framing the opportunity as a middle-class hedge fund. When Redden discovered that operating as a legitimate hedge fund would require regulatory oversight and compliance, he restructured the offering and rebranded it as a "cooperative" to evade securities regulation requirements.
Four executives connected to MCU—Spencer Lutgring (Lehi, Utah), Joseph Madden (Ocean Springs, Mississippi), Jeremy Powell (Draper, Utah), and Jarod Wetzel (Lehi, Utah)—have entered into consent orders under the settlement terms. Redden, however, declined to execute a consent order. The Securities Division consequently issued an order to show cause against Redden, initiating formal enforcement proceedings and granting him an opportunity to respond to allegations. According to Maryland Attorney General Brown, MCU "used social media to sell false promises and then pocket their clients' money," targeting investors seeking to secure their financial futures through what they believed were legitimate investment vehicles.
This enforcement action underscores regulatory focus on the deployment of social media platforms for distributing unregistered securities and highlights vulnerabilities in retail investor protection as investment marketing migrates to digital channels.
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