South Florida Arbitration & Litigation Lawyer Blog
Penny Stock and Micro-Cap Stock Fraud and Misrepresentation Litigation and FINRA Arbitration Attorney, Russell L. Forkey, Esq.
December, 2011:
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Geoffrey J. Eiten and National Financial Communications Corp., 1:11-CV-12185 (District of Massachusetts, Complaint filed December 12, 2011).
SEC CHARGES MASSACHUSETTS-BASED PENNY STOCK PROMOTER WITH MAKING FRAUDULENT STATEMENTS
The Securities and Exchange Commission, recently filed an action in federal court in Boston, charging Massachusetts resident Geoffrey J. Eiten and his company National Financial Communications Corp. (“NFC”) for making material misrepresentations and omissions in a penny stock publication they issued.
The Commission’s complaint alleges that Eiten and NFC publish a penny stock promotion piece called the “OTC Special Situations Reports.” According to the complaint, Eiten, self-proclaimed “America’s Leading Micro-Cap Stock Picker,” promotes penny stocks in this publication on behalf of clients in order to increase the price per share and/or volume of trading in the market for the securities of penny stock companies. The complaint alleges that Eiten and NFC have made misrepresentations in these reports about the penny stock companies they are promoting. For example, the Commission’s complaint alleges that during 2010, Eiten and NFC issued reports promoting four penny stock companies: (1) Clean Power Concepts, Inc., based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, a purported manufacturer and distributor of various fuel additives and lubrication products made from crushed seed oil; (2) Endeavor Power Corp., based in Robesonia, Pennsylvania, a purported recycler of value metals from electronic waste; (3) Gold Standard Mining, based in Agoura Hills, California, a purported owner of Russia gold mining operations; and (4) Nexaira Wireless Corp., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a purported developer and seller of wireless routers. The Commission’s complaint alleges that in these four reports, Eiten and NFC made material misrepresentations and omissions, concerning, among other things, the companies’ financial condition, future revenue projections, intellectual property rights, and Eiten’s interaction with company management as a basis for his statements.
According to the complaint, Eiten and NFC were hired to issue the above reports. Eiten and NFC used false information provided by their clients, without checking the accuracy of the information with the companies in question or otherwise ensuring that the statements they were making in the OTC Special Situations Report were true.
The Commission’s complaint charges Eiten and NFC with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws (Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder). In its complaint, the Commission seeks permanent injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and penny stock bars pursuant to Section 21(d)(6) of the Exchange Act against the defendants.
If the reader would like to review the SEC complaint in more detail, please follow the highlighted link.