SEC Obtains Judgment Against John Babikian
On July 8, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced (“SEC”) announced a final judgment against defendant John Babikian in the Commission action styled, SEC v. John Babikian, Civil Action No. 14-CV-1740 (S.D.N.Y.). The Court entered the final judgment, to which Babikian consented without admitting or denying the allegations. The final judgment orders Babikian to pay a total of $3,730,000, comprised of $1,915,670 in disgorgement, together with prejudgment interest in the amount of $128,073, and a civil penalty in the amount of $1,686,257.
The final judgment also imposes a bar from participating in any offering of penny stock and enjoins John Babikian from recommending, directly or indirectly, the purchase of any U.S. publicly traded or quoted stock without simultaneously disclosing any plans or intentions to sell such stock within 14 days of the recommendation. Finally, the final judgment permanently enjoins Babikian from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. § 77q(a)), Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. § 78j(b)) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder (17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5).
The SEC’s complaint, filed on March 13, 2014, alleged that John Babikian used AwesomePennyStocks.com and its related site PennyStocksUniverse.com, collectively “APS,” to commit a brand of securities fraud known as “scalping.” The APS websites disseminated e-mails to approximately 700,000 people shortly after 2:30 p.m. Eastern time on the afternoon of Feb. 23, 2012, and recommended the penny stock America West Resources Inc. (AWSRQ). What the e-mails failed to disclose among other things was that Babikian held more than 1.4 million shares of America West stock, which he had already positioned and intended to sell immediately through a Swiss bank. The APS emails immediately triggered massive increases in America West’s share price and trading volume, which John Babikian exploited by unloading shares of America West’s stock over the remaining 90 minutes of the trading day for ill-gotten gains of more than $1.9 million.
For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton, Florida, 561-416-8956, by email at [email protected] or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com. This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends of Hamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute legal advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.
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Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
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Boca Raton, Florida 33432
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