Court Reaches Final Judgement of Disgorgement and Civil Penalties Against Stock Fraudsters

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 26, 2015 that on October 23, 2015, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against two fraudsters, Joseph Catapano and Michael Piervinanzi, for their involvement in a broker bribery scheme that was constructed to manipulate the market for the common stock of Euro Solar Parks, Inc.

The SEC’s complaint claims that Catapano and Piervinanzi conducted an undisclosed kickback arrangement with someone who claimed to represent a group of registered representatives with trading discretion over the accounts of wealthy customers.  Catapano and Piervinanzi promised to pay a 30% kickback in exchange for buying up to $3 million of Euro Solar stock through the customers’ accounts.

In 2011, United States District Judge Kiyo Matsumoto entered judgments against Catapano and Piervinanzi finding that they violated Sections 9(a)(1) and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, enjoining them from committing any further violations, and holding them responsible for repayment to be determined upon the motion of the SEC.  On October 23, 2105, Judge Matsumoto entered a final judgment finding Catapano and Piervinanzi jointly and individually liable for $31,000 in disgorgement and $310 in prejudgment interest, and ordering Catapano and Piervinanzi to pay civil penalties of $44,000 and $10,425, respectively.

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 and compliance 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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