A former dentist turned hedge fund manager has been ordered to stop marketing his fund after he was found to be in violation of securities laws. 

The Colorado Division of Securities on Tuesday ordered Harvey Altholtz to cease and desist marketing his Black Diamond Fund, a PIPE hedge fund that operated out of Florida. The fund was run under the auspices of its general manager, Wealth Strategy Partners, which was also named in the cease and desist order. 

According to Colorado regulators, the fund’s securities and its sales agents—so called “finders”—weren't licensed to sell securities in Colorado. The fund purportedly aimed to raise up to $10 million by offering partnership interests through these finders, who worked on a commission basis. One of the finders, Alan Gay, allegedly gave presentations to potential investors, some of whom were not accredited investors, which is another violation of securities laws. 

This is not Altholz’s first run in with the law. The former dentist found himself in legal hot water in 1996 for peddling unapproved tooth whitener containing a toxic substance, which was destroyed under a court order at FDA's request. Altholtz was the president of the now-defunct Connecticut firm that distributed the tooth whitener.