Briefly

The SEC accused three men Wednesday of swindling investors out of millions of dollars by luring them to invest in a skin-care business before it filed for bankruptcy protection in March.

The complaint, filed in federal court in San Francisco, accused Skin Nuvo International co-founder Jeffrey Schmidt, 45, of falsely promising investors profits of as much as to 40%. Co-owner Gary Gelnette, 51, and Skin Nuvo’s former chief operating officer, Norman Valine, 39, were accused of courting new investors even after suspecting that Schmidt may have embezzled funds and falsified records.

Skin Nuvo, based in Henderson, Nev., operated stores in shopping malls in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada.