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Philly hedge fund CEO jailed in N.J. pending bail hearing

The SEC said she orchestrated a $105 million Ponzi scheme that made $63 million of her clients’ money disappear.

Brenda A. Smith, Philadelphia resident and CEO of the Broad Reach Capital hedge fund, in a booking photo taken Aug. 27, 2019. Smith is being held in the Essex Co. Jail in New Jersey on charges related to a Ponzi scheme.
Brenda A. Smith, Philadelphia resident and CEO of the Broad Reach Capital hedge fund, in a booking photo taken Aug. 27, 2019. Smith is being held in the Essex Co. Jail in New Jersey on charges related to a Ponzi scheme.Read moreEssex County Jail
    by Sam Wood
    Published 

Brenda A. Smith, the CEO of the West Conshohocken-based Broad Reach Capital hedge fund, remained jailed in New Jersey on Wednesday where she was awaiting a bail hearing, authorities said.

Federal agents arrested Smith, 59, at her Rittenhouse Square apartment Tuesday and charged her with four counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud. Smith was being held in Cell 131 at the Essex County Jail, according to the county’s website.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Smith allegedly orchestrated a $105 million Ponzi scheme that made $63 million of her clients’ money disappear. She allegedly spent more than $2 million of that to pay off her personal American Express credit card bills, according to court documents.

Smith held two passports, one from the United States and another issued by the Caribbean island nation of Dominica.

Smith, who is also known as Brenda Peterman, did not have an attorney as of Wednesday afternoon, said Matt Reilly, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark. An appointed federal public defender did not return calls.