Articles Posted in Penny Stock Fraud

Securities and Exchange Commission v. John G. Rizzo, Civil Action No. 13 CV 1801 MMA (BLM) (S.D. Cal. August 2, 2013)

SEC Charges Penny Stock CEO in International Boiler Room Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced charges against a penny stock company CEO in Boca Raton, Fla., for orchestrating an international boiler room scheme.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cort Poyner and Mohammed Dolah, Civil Action No. 13 Civ. 4331 (SJ) (E.D.N.Y.)

SEC Charges Stock Promoters with Market Manipulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that it filed a civil injunctive action against Cort Poyner (“Poyner”) and Mohammad Dolah (“Dolah”), alleging that they engaged in a fraudulent broker bribery scheme designed to manipulate the market for the common stock of Resource Group International, Inc. (“Resource Group”) and Gold Rock Resources Inc. (“Gold Rock”).

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jorge Bravo, Jr., Civil Action No. 13-CV-5116 (PGG) (S.D.N.Y., July 23, 2013)

SEC Charges Florida Resident with Unregistered Sales of Securities

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled charges against Florida resident Jorge Bravo, Jr., for unlawful sales of millions of shares of a microcap company to the public without complying with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933.

SEC Charges San Diego-Based Promoter in Penny Stock Scheme 

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a penny stock promoter in the San Diego area for fraudulently arranging the purchase of $2.5 million worth of shares in a penny stock company in an attempt to generate the false appearance of market interest and induce other investors to purchase the stock.

The SEC alleges that David F. Bahr of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., artificially increased the trading price and volume of iTrackr Systems stock when he conspired with a purported businessman with access to a network of corrupt brokers. What Bahr didn’t know was that the purported businessman was actually an undercover FBI agent. During a test run of their arrangement, Bahr paid a $3,000 kickback in exchange for the initial purchase of $14,000 worth of iTrackr shares.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Laidlaw Energy Group, Inc. and Michael Bartoszek, Civil Action No. 13 Civ. 3837 (ALC) (S.D.N.Y.)

SEC Charges Penny Stock Company and Ceo for Illegal Stock Offering and Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a microcap company that was ensnared in an SEC trading suspension proactively targeting questionable penny stocks, and also charged the CEO who illicitly profited from selling his shares while investors were unaware of the company’s financial struggles.

Final Judgments Entered against Richard Verdiramo and Vincent L. Verdiramo, Esq.

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that on April 29, 2013, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Richard Verdiramo and Vincent L. Verdiramo, Esq., that require the defendants to pay full disgorgement and civil money penalties, and bar them from penny stock offerings and from serving as officers or directors of public companies. This relief supplements the injunctions and disgorgement that the SEC had previously obtained and concludes the SEC’s case against the defendants.

In March 2010, the SEC charged Richard Verdiramo, RECOV Energy Corp.’s former Chairman, CEO, President, and CFO, with, among other things, committing fraud and violating the securities registration requirements based on his issuances of RECOV stock for his and his father’s personal benefit. The SEC charged his father, Vincent Verdiramo, an attorney who facilitated the misconduct and who was a recipient of some of the RECOV stock, with aiding and abetting his son’s fraud and with violating the securities registration requirements.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Hunter, Civil Action No. 12-cv-3123 (S.D.N.Y.)

BRITISH TWIN BROTHERS AGREE TO PAY $175,000 TO SETTLE MICROCAP PUMP-AND-DUMP CHARGES

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced that brothers Alexander John Hunter and Thomas Edward Hunter, both of Great Britain, have agreed to settle the Commission’s pending civil action against them. The Commission’s complaint, filed April 20, 2012 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that the Hunters were just 16 years old when they began disseminating subscription-based e-mail newsletters through a pair of websites they created to tout stocks selected by a “stock picking robot,” which they described as a highly sophisticated computer trading program that was the product of extensive research and development. Some investors paid an additional fee for the “home version” of the robot software.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. E-Monee.com, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 0:13-cv-60637-WJZ (S.D. Fla)

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed fraud charges against E-Monee.com, Inc. (“E-Monee”), its president, Estuardo Benavides (“Benavides”), and one of its directors and a licensed Florida attorney, Robert B. Cook (“Cook”), for offering shares in E-Monee to investors under the false pretense that the company owned Mexican bonds worth billions of dollars.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, charges E-Monee.com, Inc., Estuardo Benavides, 59, of Margate, Florida, and Robert C. Cook, 70, of Tequesta, Florida for fraudulently offering shares in E-Monee from at least January 2010 through May 2011, while claiming, among other things, the company owned Mexican bonds purportedly worth approximately $5 billion, and that E-Monee’s shares would substantially increase in value. The complaint alleges that the Mexican bonds the company owned, in reality, were essentially worthless and there was no valid basis for the claims by Benavides and Cook that E-Monee’s shares would substantially increase in value.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Carrillo Huettel LLP, Luis J. Carrillo, Wade D. Huettel, Gibraltar Global Securities, Warren Davis, John B. Kirk, Benjamin T. Kirk, Dylan L. Boyle, James K. Hinton Jr., Luniel de Beer, Joel P. Franklin, Pacific Blue Energy Corporation, Tradeshow Marketing Company Ltd., and Dr. Luis Carrillo, Civil Action No. 13 Civ. 1735 (GBD) (S.D.N.Y.)

SEC CHARGES SAN DIEGO LAWYERS AND OTHERS IN AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET MANIPULATION SCHEME

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a group of Canadian stock promoters, two San Diego attorneys, a Bahamas-based broker-dealer, and other participants in an international “pump-and-dump” scheme involving two publicly-traded U.S. companies, Pacific Blue Energy Corporation (Pacific Blue) and Tradeshow Marketing Company Ltd. (Tradeshow).

SEC Charges California-Based Lawyer with Issuing Fraudulent Legal Opinion Letters

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a California-based lawyer who has been fraudulently churning out baseless legal opinion letters for penny stocks through his website without researching and evaluating the individual stock offerings.

Legal opinion letters are issued to transfer agents on behalf of holders of restricted stock seeking to sell the stock freely in the public markets. Transfer agents typically require a lawyer’s opinion explaining the legal basis for lifting the restriction on the stock and allowing it to be freely traded.

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