Private Equity Fund Backed By Coors Family Under Investigation For Allegedly Misusing Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating a private equity firm backed by several wealthy families, including the Coors family, after it was reported that the firm’s owner was using company funds for personal expenses, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Denver-based private equity firm, One Thousand & One Voices, and a unit that controls one of the firm’s funds received subpoenas three months ago from the SEC, the WSJ reported.

The fund is owned and operated by Hendrik Jordaan, and it started to invest in sub-Saharan Africa eight years ago after Jordaan received a significant investment from brewing giant John K. Coors and others.

The investigation follows complaints that Jordaan used seed money for a new fund to pay for personal expenses and was charging his investors to pay for personal travel, according to documents reviewed by the WSJ.

A spokesman for Jordaan’s firm said that it is cooperating with the investigation. “An ongoing independent forensic accounting examination has found no indicia of fraud or intentional misconduct,” the spokesman said, according to the WSJ.

“The Africa fund’s investments have resulted in the creation or maintenance of thousands of jobs in Africa, and supported the financial well-being of tens of thousands of Africans,” the spokesman said.

One Thousand & One Voices Management, The Adolph Coors Foundation and the Molson Coors beverage company did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.

Jordaan, 50, came to the U.S. from South Africa to attend Southern Methodist University with a tennis scholarship, where he went on to receive a law degree. He worked as a lawyer at Morrison & Foerster LLP, where he co-chaired the firm’s global private-equity practice, according to the WSJ.

Jordaan left the law firm in 2013 and started One Thousand & One Voices. Other investors in the Africa fund include members of the Belk family, founders of a department-store chain, and the Leprino family, known for their Denver-based cheese company.