Exposé: The Old South Trading Co. PPE Investment Scam

Key Points

• Brendan H. Church and his father, Edwin N. “Chuck” Church, once positioned Old South Trading Co., LLC as a booming pandemic-era supplier of medical gear.
• Behind the scenes, they were raising $25.8 million from unsuspecting investors through unregistered, high-interest promissory notes.
• By mid-2022, the payments stopped, redemptions were ignored, and over $11.6 million vanished into a financial black hole.
• On July 18, 2025, a federal court delivered its verdict: lifetime bans from securities activity and $550,000 in penalties—marking the end of a scheme fueled by trust, ambition, and regulatory disregard.

Old South Trading Co., LLC was a family-owned medical supply distribution company based in Greer, South Carolina. Founded in 2012, the company operated out of a contemporary office with two warehouses in Upstate South Carolina [1][2]. Old South Trading presented itself as a “trusted medical distribution company” with a global supply chain, providing personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies to hospitals, nursing facilities, schools, government offices, and industrial clients across the country [3].

The company’s website (OldSouthTrade.com) advertised items like nitrile gloves and COVID-19 test kits, and it garnered hundreds of customer reviews online, suggesting a robust e-commerce operation for PPE and related products [4][5]. By all outward appearances, Old South Trading was a legitimate enterprise meeting critical needs during the pandemic.

The business was led by Brendan H. Church, who served as President and owner of Old South Trading. Brendan Church (age 42) is a resident of Simpsonville, SC [6] and a graduate of Western Carolina University. According to his LinkedIn profile, he describes himself as an entrepreneur and has been involved not only with Old South Trading Co. but also with ventures like American Tool Co. and Miller MotorSports LLC [7].

Over the span of a decade, Brendan cultivated supplier relationships worldwide and built Old South’s reputation as a reliable source of PPE, even becoming an authorized seller for major manufacturers such as 3M and Kimberly-Clark [8][9]. The Better Business Bureau listed Brendan H. Church as the owner of Old South Trading and noted the company had been in business for 12 years, offering e-commerce sales of medical, industrial, and lab supplies [10].

Brendan’s father, Edwin N. “Chuck” Church, played an integral role in the company’s fundraising efforts. Chuck Church (age 64) is a resident of Duncan, SC [11], and by profession he is a franchise owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Greenville, SC. In fact, Chuck is well-known locally as the long-time operator of the Chick-fil-A on Woodruff Road in Greenville [12].

This connection gave him a wide network of fellow Chick-fil-A franchisees (called “operators”) and other business associates. Chuck leveraged the goodwill he had in the community – and the trust associated with the Chick-fil-A brand – to help his son raise money for Old South Trading.

He did not hold any securities licenses or formal position in the finance industry [6], but he volunteered to act as a coordinator and broker of sorts for Old South’s fundraising, drawing in friends and fellow franchise operators as potential investors. As described later by regulators, Chuck effectively acted as an unregistered broker, handling investor solicitations, paperwork, and communications in exchange for compensation from Old South [13].

A $25.8 Million Unregistered Securities Offering

In early 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused global shortages of masks, gloves and other PPE, the Churches saw a massive business opportunity – and an accompanying need for capital to purchase PPE inventory. In March 2020, Brendan and Chuck Church began raising funds for Old South Trading by offering short-term investment notes to outside investors [14]. These investments were structured as demand promissory notes – essentially loans to Old South that paid a high rate of interest and could be redeemed by the investor on demand (with a few weeks’ notice) [14].

Over the next two years (from March 2020 until May 2022), the Churches raised approximately $25.8 million from about 100 investors through these notes [15]. Crucially, this securities offering was never registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and no exemption was in place – meaning it violated federal securities laws from the outset [16].

Several factors make this capital raise remarkable – and, in hindsight, highly suspect:

• Unusually High Returns Promised: Early investors were enticed with extremely generous returns. The notes paid 10% interest per month (effectively 120% annualized) – a staggering rate that reflected either tremendous profit margins or extraordinary risk. Investors also had the right to demand their money back at any time (with 2–3 weeks notice) [14]. Such terms are virtually unheard of in legitimate fixed-income investments. (By August 2020, as the scheme evolved, Old South reduced the interest rate to 2% per month (24% annually), which was still far above market rates [17].) Chuck Church assured investors that these returns were possible only “because of the volume and urgency to meet an important need,” insisting the opportunity was a rare chance to profit from the COVID-driven demand [18].
• Tapping a Trusted Social Network: Chuck targeted investors from a very specific pool – his fellow Chick-fil-A franchise operators and their contacts. He used a private Facebook group for Chick-fil-A operators (named the “Chick-fil-A Operator Forum”) as the primary venue to solicit funds [19]. Between April 2020 and May 2021, Chuck posted at least four messages in this forum pitching the Old South investment, personally vouching for its safety and urging other franchisees to “share with other operators” [20][19]. The pitch was that by lending money to his son’s company to import PPE, they could “earn 2% monthly” interest and help meet the critical pandemic supply needs [21]. Chuck even invested his own funds in Old South to show confidence, and he “personally guaranteed that investments were safe,” according to court filings [19]. This informal, peer-to-peer approach meant that many investors trusted Chuck due to his standing in the Chick-fil-A community, and they invested on the strength of his word rather than through any formal prospectus.
• Unaccredited and Unsophisticated Investors: Because the offer was spread via word of mouth and social media, it reached individuals who were not accredited investors (i.e., not high-net-worth or financially sophisticated) – including elderly family members of franchisees and others outside the Chick-fil-A network [22]. Normally, private offerings are restricted to accredited investors or require extensive disclosures. In this case, no registration statement was filed, so investors were deprived of the disclosures and protections that come with SEC registration [23]. Many investors simply took Chuck at his word that the deal was solid. For example, one Chick-fil-A operator’s elderly mother invested her savings after hearing about the opportunity, not realizing she was exposing herself to significant risk in an unregistered security [24].
• No Oversight or Documentation: Aside from brief promissory note contracts, investors received little information about Old South’s financial condition or the specifics of how their money would be used. There were no audited financials, no private placement memorandum – nothing one would expect in a $25 million capital raise. As the SEC later noted, no registration statement was in effect for these notes and no exemption applied, making every sale of the notes a technical violation of the Securities Act [16].

Through 2020 and into 2021, money poured in. By May 2020 (just weeks into the effort), Chuck reported on Facebook that “collectively you have loaned approximately $3 million, with another $1 million coming” and encouraged operators to continue spreading the word [25]. Ultimately, about $25.8 million was raised from around 100 investors in multiple states [15]. Many of those investors were Chick-fil-A franchisees or their relatives, primarily across the Southeast and Midwest [26].

On the surface, the arrangement may have appeared mutually beneficial: Old South got the capital it needed to fulfill large PPE orders during the COVID boom, and investors earned eye-popping returns on idle cash. Indeed, Old South Trading did use the funds to purchase large quantities of masks, gloves, and other supplies – and it had real customers to buy that inventory. The company claimed major healthcare clients; Brendan at one point emailed investors that Old South had been selected as an authorized distributor for giants like Cardinal Health, 3M, Kimberly-Clark, and others, underscoring the legitimacy of the business operations [9].

However, behind the scenes Old South’s finances were far shakier than the Churches let on. In fact, even as Chuck was assuring fellow operators that the investment was “extremely low risk” [18], Old South was already entangled in a major dispute that threatened its solvency. In May 2020 – barely two months into the fundraising – Brendan and Old South had signed a $5.5 million “Resolution Agreement” with a company called Dream Medical Group, LLC (run by Joseph Agresti) to refund money related to a failed PPE deal [27][28].

Old South had apparently taken millions from Dream Medical to supply PPE and then been unable to fulfill the order, leading to demands for a refund [28]. Brendan only signed the refund agreement after being allegedly assured it wouldn’t be enforced, but that backfired [29][30]. When Old South failed to pay the $5.5 million back, Dream Medical initiated arbitration and won an award of $5.5 million against Old South in late 2020 [31]. By March 2022, after Old South still hadn’t paid, Dream Medical took the fight to court, suing Old South and even some of Old South’s note investors (who had been paid out early) in an effort to claw back funds [32].

Crucially, the Churches did not disclose these massive liabilities and legal troubles to the new investors they were courting. Chuck and Brendan kept mum about the Dream Medical arbitration and award while they continued to raise money throughout 2020–2021 [27]. Instead of revealing that Old South was on the hook for $5.5 million – an obligation that could wipe out the company – they downplayed or hid the issue.

Internal emails show that in August 2020, as financial pressures mounted, Chuck informed investors that the monthly interest paid would be cut from 10% to 2%, but he gave a false explanation for this change [17]. He did not mention the looming $5.5 million debt; rather, he reassured everyone that “the business is still healthy and thriving” and claimed the interest reduction was just to gauge who would remain invested at a lower (but still generous) rate [17]. This omission meant incoming investors continued to believe Old South was financially sound, unaware that earlier “investors” (like Dream Medical) had already lost huge sums.

Collapse: Defaults, Lawsuits, and Losses

By mid-2022, the house of cards began to collapse. Old South Trading’s cash flow could no longer sustain the promised interest payouts and redemption of notes. In June 2022, Old South abruptly stopped paying monthly interest and stopped honoring redemption requests from investors [33]. Essentially, the company froze withdrawals – a telltale sign of a Ponzi-like scheme running dry. According to the SEC, at least 79 investors were left with unpaid principal and interest, amounting to over $11.6 million in losses when Old South’s note program imploded [33].

Investors who had trusted the Churches were shocked. Many had been receiving interest payments for months or years, and Chuck had consistently portrayed the investment as safe. Now, suddenly, their money was inaccessible and the lucrative interest checks stopped. In internal communications that later became public, some investors pressed for answers: an email from one desperate investor in June 2022 described the situation bluntly, illustrating that people were beginning to fear they’d become victims of a fraud [34].

In August 2022, a group of franchisee-investors took legal action, filing a lawsuit to recover their funds. Three Chick-fil-A operators from Missouri and other states (investing through entities like “5J’s Holding, LLC”) alleged that Old South Trading Co. was effectively a Ponzi scheme – asserting that Brendan and Chuck used new investors’ money to pay returns owed to earlier investors [35][36].

Their complaint pointed out that Chuck’s personal guarantees and the constant recruitment of new investors were hallmarks of a Ponzi-like operation. In fact, they noted Chuck had “all but admitted” the business was a Ponzi in how he described the need for new funds to pay existing obligations [37]. (Notably, the SEC’s charges against the Churches were based on regulatory violations – unregistered securities sales and acting as an unregistered broker – rather than an outright fraud charge. However, the collapse and pattern of payments strongly resembled a Ponzi scheme in the eyes of those defrauded.)

Facing multiple lawsuits and angry creditors, Brendan H. Church filed for personal bankruptcy (Chapter 11) in May 2023, in an attempt to restructure or discharge the debts related to the Old South notes [38]. In that filing, he listed the dozens of note-holders as unsecured creditors – essentially admitting that their “investments” were now just debts he owed them. The bankruptcy and civil suits stalled many investors’ recovery efforts as the matters wound through court. Meanwhile, Old South Trading Co. as a business entity was effectively defunct – Tennessee records show the LLC was administratively dissolved in September 2023 [39]. The once high-flying PPE supplier had gone dark, and its website eventually went offline.

SEC Enforcement and Final Judgments (2025)

The scope of the Old South scheme and the losses suffered did not escape the notice of federal regulators. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Old South Trading’s fundraising activities, which culminated in a formal enforcement action. On January 17, 2025, the SEC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina charging Brendan Church, Chuck Church, and Old South Trading Co. with securities law violations [40].

The SEC alleged that the Churches conducted an unregistered offering of securities totaling $25.8 million and that Chuck Church additionally violated broker-dealer regulations by acting as an unregistered broker for Old South [40][13]. These charges aligned with the narrative already known to investors: that the Churches had sold promissory note investments to the public without abiding by registration requirements, and that Chuck had essentially been operating as the salesman/middleman for a commission.

After the complaint was filed, both Brendan and Edwin “Chuck” Church agreed to settle the SEC’s charges. Without admitting or denying the allegations, the father-son duo consented to the entry of final judgments, which the court approved on July 18, 2025 [41][42]. The final judgments impose significant penalties and restrictions on the Churches going forward:

• Permanent Injunctions: Both Brendan and Chuck are permanently enjoined from further violations of the securities registration laws – specifically, they are barred from violating Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933, which prohibit unregistered offers and sales of securities [42]. Chuck is also enjoined from violating Section 15(a)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act, the law that requires brokers to be registered [42].
• Monetary Penalties: Brendan Church was ordered to pay a $300,000 civil penalty, and Chuck Church was ordered to pay a $250,000 civil penalty [43]. These fines are punitive and are meant to deter future violations. In addition, Chuck was ordered to disgorge $15,358 (plus prejudgment interest) – representing the ill-gotten gains he personally received, such as any transaction-based compensation for soliciting investors [44]. (The disgorgement amount is relatively small, suggesting that Chuck’s direct “commission” was limited; most of the $25.8 million was lost by Old South or paid out to other investors, rather than pocketed by the Churches in cash.)
• Industry Bars: The judgments include emphatic bars on the Churches’ future activities in the securities arena. Both Brendan and Chuck are prohibited from participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security in the future – except for buying or selling securities for their own personal investment accounts [45]. This broad ban effectively prevents them from raising money from investors or promoting investments ever again. Furthermore, Chuck Church is barred from acting as or associating with a broker-dealer in the future [45]. In practical terms, Chuck cannot work for or on behalf of any firm in the business of buying/selling securities. These bars are a common SEC remedy in cases of egregious misconduct and aim to protect the investing public from future schemes.

With these settlements, the SEC’s case was concluded. Upon the entry of the final judgments, the SEC dismissed its claims against Old South Trading Co. itself with prejudice [46], since the company had no assets and was essentially just an alter ego of Brendan. The enforcement action stands as a public censure of the Churches’ conduct and a warning to others. In announcing the outcome, the SEC emphasized that everyday investors, including those reached through “a social media forum,” were sold unregistered, high-risk investments and ultimately suffered heavy losses when the promised returns proved unsustainable [47][48].

Conclusion

The story of Old South Trading Co. is a wake-up call on how even well-intentioned business ventures can veer into illegality and ruin when proper safeguards are ignored. What began as a family business supplying medical gear turned into an illicit fundraising scheme that blended trust and deception: a respected fast-food franchisee persuading his peers to invest, an entrepreneur son chasing big profits amid a crisis, and dozens of ordinary people tempted by extraordinary returns. The Churches capitalized on personal relationships and the urgency of a pandemic, but in doing so they flouted securities laws designed to prevent exactly this kind of situation – where investors are kept in the dark about risks and liabilities [23][27].

Ultimately, the demand for PPE may have been real, but the investment opportunity was not as risk-free as advertised. When Old South’s business stumbled and obligations piled up, the lack of transparency meant investors had no way to know their money was in peril until it was too late. The fact that several Chick-fil-A operators – savvy businesspeople in their own right – allegedly fell victim and likened the scheme to a Ponzi scam underscores how persuasive the Churches’ pitch must have been [35].

Fortunately, regulatory enforcement caught up with Brendan and Chuck Church. The SEC’s action in 2025 ensures that these individuals face consequences and cannot simply move on to the next fundraising venture. However, for the investors who lost over $11 million collectively, the SEC’s penalties do little to recoup their savings. Many of those victims are left to seek relief through the courts or Brendan Church’s bankruptcy proceedings, where recoveries are uncertain.

In the end, the Old South Trading saga highlights the importance of skepticism and due diligence, even when an opportunity comes from friends or respected community members. Investments paying 24%–120% returns with “no risk” are almost invariably too good to be true. And as this case shows, even a “trusted” insider can lead others into a disastrous trap if proper regulatory compliance and transparency are absent. The Churches’ rise and fall serve as a stark reminder that no personal relationship or brand reputation can substitute for lawful, prudent investment practices – a lesson painfully learned by the dozens who bought into Old South Trading’s PPE note program.

This investigation was compiled from SEC enforcement documents, court filings, news reports, and corporate websites. The information presented is based on public records and allegations contained in legal proceedings. We are proud of our research team and have included all citation and source links below for your reference.

• U.S. SEC Litigation Release No. 26230 (Jan. 21, 2025) – SEC Charges Father and Son for $25.8 Million Unregistered Securities Offering [49][50]
• U.S. SEC Litigation Release No. 26361 (July 22, 2025) – SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Father and Son (Old South Trading Co., Brendan H. Church, Edwin N. Church) [51][42]
• SEC v. Old South Trading Co., LLC et al., Complaint No. 6:25-cv-00334 (D.S.C. filed Jan. 17, 2025) – Allegations of unregistered offer, details of scheme (PPE investments, losses) [47][33]
• LinkedIn – Old South Trading Co. (Company profile) – Background on business, family-owned since 2012, operations and clientele [1][2]
• LinkedIn – Brendan Church (Profile snippet) – Entrepreneurial roles (Old South Trading, American Tool Co., Miller MotorSports) [7]
• Better Business Bureau (BBB) – Old South Trading Co. profile, owner Brendan Church, business description and years in operation [10]
• Reddit AMA / Post (Jan 2023) – Brendan (“BChurch488”) clarifying Old South’s status as an authorized PPE seller, clients (Prisma Health, Cintas), and authenticity of 3M mask supplies [8]
• 5J’s Holding LLC v. Old South Trading Co., LLC (Investors’ civil lawsuit) – Allegations from Chick-fil-A franchisee investors: Chuck Church’s use of Facebook forum, 10% monthly interest, guarantee of safety, hidden $5.5M arbitration, interest rate cut to 2% [14][19][27][17]
• Patch.com (Mauldin, SC) – Community article noting “Chuck Church, owner and operator of the Woodruff Road Chick-fil-A” (establishing Chuck’s Chick-fil-A franchisee status) [12]
• JDSupra Law News (Carlton Fields) – Dream Medical Group, LLC v. Old South Trading Co. (5th Cir. Mar. 6, 2023) – Background on the $5.5M arbitration between Old South/Brendan Church and Dream Medical for PPE deal gone bad [28][30]
• SEC Complaint (filed Jan 2025) – Additional details: use of social media message boards, unaccredited investors, stop of payments in June 2022, Brendan’s personal bankruptcy in 2023 listing noteholders as creditors [52][33]