David Goldman Receives 12-Month SEC Bar Over Role in $1.2 Billion Woodbridge Ponzi Scheme

David Goldman, a longtime internal sales agent for the collapsed Woodbridge Group of Companies, has been suspended for 12 months by the Securities and Exchange Commission for his role in selling unregistered securities tied to one of the largest real estate Ponzi schemes in recent years.

The SEC issued the suspension order on May 13, 2026, nearly nine years after the Woodbridge scheme unraveled. Goldman, 63, of Chatsworth, California, consented to the order following a federal judgment entered against him in 2024 tied to his work promoting Woodbridge investments to thousands of investors across the country.

According to the SEC, Goldman was one of the company’s highest-producing internal sales agents and had the longest tenure among the three salespeople charged by the Commission. He worked at Woodbridge from at least 2012 through early 2018 and coordinated sales involving roughly 2,800 investors.

Federal regulators said Goldman received more than $659,000 in commissions during the applicable limitations period in addition to a salary exceeding $192,000. The SEC alleged those commission payments were routed through DG Marketing Inc., a California company wholly owned by Goldman that remains active under state records.

Woodbridge, founded by Robert Shapiro, raised at least $1.22 billion from more than 8,400 investors before collapsing in 2017. The company marketed short-term promissory notes and private placement offerings tied to purported real estate lending operations. Regulators later alleged the business operated as a Ponzi scheme that used incoming investor funds to pay existing obligations and maintain the appearance of legitimate returns.

The SEC said Goldman and other internal sales agents promoted Woodbridge securities through phone calls, emails, meetings, and marketing materials that described the investments as safe. Many investors were retirees who used IRA funds to participate. Regulators also alleged neither Woodbridge nor its sales network verified whether investors met accredited investor requirements.

Goldman and co-defendant Brook Church-Koegel additionally served as team leaders inside Woodbridge’s sales organization. According to the SEC, that role included training other sales agents, participating in calls with prospective investors, and helping coordinate sales efforts involving external agents operating across multiple states.

Together, the three internal salespeople charged by the SEC sold approximately $444 million in Woodbridge securities. Goldman’s network alone allegedly assisted in at least $59 million in sales within a single federal district.

The SEC originally filed its civil complaint against Goldman, Church-Koegel, and Nicole Walker in March 2020. Consent judgments were later entered in April 2024, followed by related administrative proceedings.

Unlike the other two defendants, Goldman initially failed to respond to the SEC’s administrative case after proceedings were instituted in June 2024. Regulators moved for a default ruling later that year after he missed the response deadline, which would have allowed the allegations against him to be deemed true by default. Goldman ultimately settled before a final default order was entered.

The May 2026 suspension order places Goldman under a 12-month bar from associating with brokers, dealers, investment advisers, and other entities regulated by the securities industry.

The action marks one of the final chapters in the SEC’s long-running enforcement effort surrounding Woodbridge’s sales network. Earlier cases resulted in permanent bars against multiple external sales agents as well as Woodbridge founder Robert Shapiro, who was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison in 2019.

According to the SEC, Woodbridge paid at least $64.5 million in commissions to its broader sales network during the life of the scheme. While the enforcement actions have stretched nearly a decade beyond the company’s collapse, investors are still expected to recover only a fraction of the money they lost.