Hi, it’s Amanda Gerut, pinch hitting for Allie. In late 2014, Ellen Polcari was nannying for a VC’s two young children. A decade later, she had branded herself the firm’s “controller,” and, according to the SEC, the person who allegedly moved about $1.28 million of investor money into her own accounts. The money went to online gambling, shopping, and restaurant meals, regulators say.
That complaint, filed in federal court in New Jersey on Sept. 18, states that the funds raised about $28.7 million from at least 85 mostly high-net-worth investors and family offices between April 2023 and March 2025. The venture firms aren’t named; the SEC states that the two firms are based in Montana.
It’s an extreme case if the allegations hold up. But the mechanics aren’t exotic. A small firm, a founder focused on deals, and one trusted person running the back end. For anyone who writes checks and works with emerging managers, it’s a question worth verifying every time: Who can move money, and who is checking to make sure it’s going to the right place?
Here’s what happened, according to the SEC. A year into her nannying gig, the fund manager brought Polcari into the firm as an “executive assistant.” Over the next decade, her role grew to cover everything involving the bowels of fund administration. She sent offering documents and wire instructions, tracked down subscription agreements, and wired capital to portfolio companies.
By April 2023, she allegedly became the sole signatory on a new fund’s bank account and described herself on the application as a “Partner with Control of the Entity” and an 80% owner of the fund, unbeknownst to the owner, the SEC says. The SEC claims neither the VC owner nor its co-owner had access to or signatory authority on the fund’s bank account.
According to regulators, Polcari listed the fund’s mailing address as her own home. In 2024, the firm’s Form ADV listed her as “Controller” and a “Regulatory Contact Person.” When the unnamed owner opened a second VC firm in the summer of 2024, Polcari filed the necessary documents, opened more bank accounts, and again named herself as the beneficial owner for some of them. She and the VC owner were the only two people who worked there, and by early 2025, the SEC claims Polcari’s email address was the only contact on the firm’s website.
I made my best efforts to reach Polcari and was unsuccessful. I also reached out to the firm that listed her in its Form ADV in 2024 and didn’t get a response. The firm’s website says it has invested in 90-plus companies over 16 years and lists investments in Ripple, Dollar Shave Club, Life360, and Liquid Death.
The SEC claims Polcari helped herself to the money almost as soon as it was wired in. On Oct. 1, 2024, one of the funds got its first $250,000 investment. Within a day, Polcari allegedly moved $28,000 to her own bank account. Two days later, the same fund got $800,000 in investments, and during the next three weeks, according to regulators, Polcari allegedly moved $97,500 of it to her own accounts. That fund raised a total of $1.34 million and the SEC says about $768,000 allegedly went to Polcari and her bills, including about $131,000 in online-gambling expenses paid straight from the fund’s account.
By December, that fund had insufficient capital to make its designated portfolio-company investment, and the SEC alleges Polcari moved nearly $1 million out of four other funds to plug the gap. She also allegedly forged the owner’s Docusign e-signature to transfer portfolio company shares to her business, Forks Up LLC, and sold most of the stock for $56,000.
In late February 2025, the VC owner and Polcari learned the SEC was conducting a probe of the firm and the jig, as they say, was up. Three weeks later, Polcari’s lawyer informed the owner she had liberated a “significant amount” from the firms and the funds, the complaint states. She was fired, and on March 30, the SEC says Polcari called the owner and admitted to some of it.
The allegations are brazen if the SEC’s account holds up. Giving yourself rights and then allegedly raiding the funds repeatedly is an outrageous act. But, trusting one person to route everything? That I don’t get. The trust-but-verify lesson learned the hard way.
See you tomorrow,
Amanda
amanda.gerut@fortune.com
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VENTURE CAPITAL
- Enveda, a Boulder, Colo.-based AI drug-discovery company, raised $311 million in Series E funding. Catalio Capital Management led the round and was joined by Durable Capital Partners, ICONIQ, Lightspeed, Surveyor Capital, and others.
- Ultraviolette, a Bengaluru, Karnataka-based developer, raised $85 million in funding. Yali Capital and TDK Ventures led the round.
- Ema, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of AI agents for enterprise work, raised $77 million in Series B funding. Creaegis led the round and was joined by existing investors Accel, S32, and Prosus.
- Anaconda Biomed, a Barcelona, Spain-based developer of thrombectomy catheters, raised $56 million in funding. Omega Funds led the round.
- UltraSight, a Boston, Mass.-based developer of AI-guided cardiac imaging software, raised $24 million in Series B2 financing. Alive HealthTech Growth Fund led the round and was joined by Deep Insight, Star51 Capital, Connecticut Innovations, eHealth Ventures, and existing investors.
- 50skills, a Kópavogur, Iceland-based employee-onboarding software company, raised $6 million in funding from Frumtak Ventures, Swiss Post Ventures, and others.
- Topdog, a New York City-based real-money skill-gaming company, raised $2.5 million in seed funding. Boston Seed Capital led the round and was joined by The Raine Group, Bullpen Capital, Versus Ventures, Spoondrift Capital, and Permit Ventures.
- Axio BioPharma, a Madison, Wis.-based developer of a platform that connects pharmaceutical manufacturers’ data across company lines, raised $2.4 million in pre-seed funding from Elmstead Partners, Chisos Capital, the Chemical Angel Network, and angel investors.
PRIVATE EQUITY
- AVS Bio, a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, acquired Biorbyt, a Cambridge, U.K.-based supplier of bio-reagents, antibodies, proteins, and other biomaterials for life-science research. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Frigoveneta, a platform company of Ambienta, acquired Madefrigor, a Como, Italy-based designer, assembler, and installer of tailor-made industrial refrigeration systems and air handling units. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- Granite Creek Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in Climalock, a Warsaw, MO.-based provider of insulation panel systems for aboveground storage tanks for the agricultural, data center, fire protection, and other industrial markets.
- Lone View Capital acquired a majority stake in HappyCo, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based property maintenance management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- The Expo Group, backed by New State Capital Partners, acquired toddstreet, a New York City-based creative experiential agency. Financial terms were not disclosed.