The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit in a Florida federal court accusing Taino Lopez and Alexander Mehr, founders of Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), with defrauding investors of $112 million via a Ponzi-style scheme, according to reporting in the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets.
From 2020 to 2022, REV purchased the assets of at least eight bankrupt or struggling retailers, including RadioShack, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Pier 1 Imports and Stein Mart, converting several into online-only operations.
According to the WSJ, the SEC’s complaint, filed Sept. 23, 2025, alleges that Lopez and Mehr made material misrepresentations to investors about the retailers’ profitability and the success of their business model. The SEC complaint claims that none of the businesses generated any profits and that REV covered obligations by using loans from outside lenders, merchant cash advances and funds from new and existing investors.
Additionally, the SEC accused Lopez and Mehr of misappropriating $16 million in investor funds for their personal use. The complaint seeks civil penalties, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains and a ban on the defendants, Lopez, Mehr and REV COO Maya Rose Burkenroad, serving as an officer or director of any public company. According to the WSJ, the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.
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In July 2021 REV purchased UK brand Ralph & Russo, and in September 2022 Tuesday Morning received a $32 million investment from REV and Ayon Capital. However, hints of REV’s financial troubles have been visible since 2023, when secured creditors foreclosed on its assets, with most of those assets assigned to a new holding company, Omni Retail Enterprises.
