Articles Posted in Unregistered Securities

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Keith Houlihan, No. 9:18-cv-80585 (S.D. Fla. filed May 4, 2018)

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed an enforcement action against a former microcap company president with defrauding over 700 investors nationwide who were pressured to invest has agreed to lifetime officer-and-director and penny stock bars.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that from 2009 until 2015, Keith Houlihan of Boca Raton, Florida, while president of publicly-traded Sanomedics, Inc., hired and worked with an unregistered broker and his boiler room operation to illegally sell shares of Sanomedics by cold-calling the investing public using high-pressure sales tactics. In 2009 and 2010, Houlihan falsely told investors that for a limited time he was able to offer them Sanomedics shares at a steep discount to the stock’s market price. The complaint alleges further that Houlihan used investor monies to pay undisclosed sales commissions to boiler room sales agents and more than $110,000 to himself for personal expenses. In 2013 and 2014, Houlihan signed Sanomedics’ annual and quarterly filings with the SEC that contained false statements about Sanomedics’ financing and did not disclose the illegal boiler room activity.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Chad Anthony Lewis, No. 18-cv-61869 (S.D. Fla. filed August 13, 2018)

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action against Chad Anthony Lewis, a Kentucky resident for unlawfully acting as an unregistered broker and selling unregistered investments in two oil and gas companies based in Texas.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Lewis illegally solicited and raised money from investors for Aegis Oil, LLC and 7S Oil & Gas, LLC. Both of these companies offered and sold unregistered securities in the form of “joint venture units” in oil and gas development projects located in Texas.

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Alexander Charles White and Paul Douglas Vandivier, No. 18-cv-61870 (S.D. Fla. filed August 13, 2018)

Recently, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action against two sales agents for unlawfully acting as unregistered brokers and selling unregistered investments in two oil and gas companies based in Texas.

The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that Alexander Charles White and Paul Douglas Vandivier illegally solicited and raised money from investors for Aegis Oil, LLC and 7S Oil & Gas, LLC. Both of these companies offered and sold unregistered securities in the form of “joint venture units” in oil and gas development projects located in Texas.

South Florida Investment and Securities Fraud and Mismanagement Litigation and Arbitration Attorney:

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Robert Hurd, Your Best Memories International Inc. and Kenneth Gross, Civil Action No. 13-CV-04464-RGK (JCGx) (C.D. Cal. June 20, 2013)

Court Enters Judgment Against Unregistered Broker for Role in Investment Scheme Involving Purported Alzheimer’s Treatment

Do CFPs have to register as an Investment Adviser in Florida – Delray, Boynton Beach, Lantana, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach FINRA Arbitration, Litigation and Elder Abuse Attorney:

Any person who for compensation refers, solicits, offers, or negotiates for the purchase or sale of investment advisory services is required to be registered in Florida, regardless of their professional designation as a Investment Adviser and/or Associated Person of a broker/dealer.

Please keep in mind that this information is being provided for informational purposes only.  It is not designed to be complete in all material respects.  Thus, it should not be relied upon as legal or investment advise.  If the reader has any questions relating to this post, you should contact a qualified professional.  

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is a self-regulatory authority assigned the responsibility, by the Securities and Exchange Commission, to license, regulate and discipline securities broker/dealers and their employees, including account executives. In the event that FINRA elects to institute an enforcement action, firms and licensed individuals have the responsibility to reflect such action on their U-4 and/or U-5 filings, which can be viewed on the FINRA website under the broker-check section of the site or by viewing the monthly disciplinary information also provided on the FINRA site.

The monthly disciplinary information is referenced on the FINRA site generally in alphabetical order. This post relates to the following company or individuals. If the reader would like to review the entire FINRA release or the broker-check information concerning this matter, you can follow these highlighted links:

June 2014 Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is a self-regulatory authority assigned the responsibility, by the Securities and Exchange Commission, to license, regulate and discipline securities broker/dealers and their employees, including account executives. In the event that FINRA elects to institute an enforcement action, firms and licensed individuals have the responsibility to reflect such action on their U-4 and/or U-5 filings, which can be viewed on the FINRA website under the broker-check section of the site or by viewing the monthly disciplinary information also provided on the FINRA site.

The monthly disciplinary information is referenced on the FINRA site generally in alphabetical order. This post relates to the following company or individuals. If the reader would like to review the entire FINRA release or the broker-check information concerning this matter, you can follow these highlighted links:

June 2014 Disciplinary and Other FINRA Actions

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