SEC Settles with Morningview Financial, LLC and Its Managing Member, Miles M. Riccio, Alleged to Have Acted as Unregistered Dealers
On December 23, 2024, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments on consent against Defendant Morningview Financial, LLC, a company alleged to have acted as an unregistered dealer; Defendant Miles M. Riccio, Morningview Financial’s managing member and partial owner; and Relief Defendant Joseph M. Riccio, Morningview Financial’s other partial owner who also received a portion of the alleged ill-gotten gains.
The SEC’s complaint, filed on September 23, 2022, alleged that Morningview Financial and Miles Riccio acted as securities dealers from approximately July 2017 through at least December 2021, notwithstanding the fact that they were not registered as dealers with the SEC, nor was Miles Riccio associated with an SEC-registered dealer. The SEC also alleged that Defendants funded 35 penny stock issuers in exchange for at least 68 convertible notes and 4 warrant agreements, converted the notes and the warrants to obtain more than 3.2 billion shares of newly issued shares of common stock, and then publicly sold over 90% of these new shares of common stock, generating over $14.8 million in trading profits.
Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Defendants and Relief Defendant consented to the entry of the final judgments, which: (1) permanently enjoin Defendants from violating the dealer registration provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (2) order Defendants and Relief Defendant to pay total disgorgement of over $3.6 million and total prejudgment interest of over $780,000; (3) order Defendants to pay total civil penalties of $650,000; (4) impose five-year penny stock bars on Defendants; and (5) order that Morningview Financial surrender for cancellation any shares obtained through convertible notes or warrants, conversion rights under any remaining convertible notes, and unexercised warrants.
According to the final judgment against Morningview Financial, the following shares and notes will be surrendered:
Additionally, on January 2, 2025, the SEC entered an administrative order, upon consent, barring Morningview Financial and Miles Riccio from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization, with a right to reapply for reentry after five years.
To speak with a Securities Attorney, please contact Brenda Hamilton at 200 E Palmetto Rd, Suite 103, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 416-8956, or by email at [email protected]. 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 Attorneys
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney
200 E Palmetto Rd, Suite 103
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
Telephone: (561) 416-8956
Facsimile: (561) 416-2855
www.SecuritiesLawyer101.com
