The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Anthony M. Cottone Monday in Florida Southern District Court. The lawsuit accuses Cottone of defrauding investors of $2.76 million in connection with the sale of preferred interests in a private fund owned by the defendant and misappropriating the fund's assets for personal use. Attorneys have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 9:22-cv-80048, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cottone et al.