Guy Gentile Charged with Operating a Penny Stock Manipulation Scheme
On March 23, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Guy Gentile, a resident of Putnam Valley, New York, with perpetrating penny stock manipulation schemes.
The SEC alleges that Gentile, who at the time operated as a registered broker-dealer, engaged in manipulative trading, provided illegal kick-backs, and distributed promotional mailings of glossy “newsletters” with fake publication names like “Stock Trend Report” and “Global Investor Watch,” in order to tout the stocks of purported gold and silver exploration company Raven Gold Corporation (RVNG) and natural gas production company Kentucky USA Energy. The newsletters misled investors with purportedly positive – but fake – price and volume trends for these stocks and other false information about the promoters’ identity, compensation, and control of the stock. In reality, most of the touted market activity was generated by Gentile and his associates who controlled large blocks of the companies’ stocks. Last year, the SEC charged attorney Adam Gottbetter for his role in the Kentucky USA Energy scheme, as well as Canadian stock promoters Mike Taxon and Itamar Cohen for their roles in the Raven Gold Corporation and Kentucky USA Energy schemes.
The SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in New Jersey alleges that Gentile violated Sections 5(a), 5(c), 17(a) and 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, and violated and aided and abetted violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5. The SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil money penalties, injunctions against future violations, and a bar against participation in penny stock offerings.
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.
Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
101 Plaza Real South, Suite 202 North
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
Telephone: (561) 416-8956
Facsimile: (561) 416-2855
