Mark Lisser Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud Conspiracy
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Mark Lisser pleaded guilty to securities fraud conspiracy for lying to customers about investments in shares of several companies prior to the initial public offering (IPO) of those companies.
The Department of Justice announced the Indictment against Lisser on December 1, 2020,
According to the Indictment, between October 2018 and January 2019, Lisser was a partner in Knightsbridge Private Partners LLC (Knightsbridge), which operated a series of websites and call centers (boiler rooms) used to solicit investments in purported pre-IPO shares of companies (the Pre-IPO Companies). One of the call centers operated out of Melville, New York, and the other out of Boca Raton, Florida.
Employees of Knightsbridge, including Lisser, solicited these investments by falsely telling investors and potential investors that Knightsbridge owned the shares it was selling, that Knightsbridge was on the capitalization table of the pre-IPO Companies, and that Knightsbridge and its employees did not earn any commissions or fees until after the shares were issued to the public and the investors made money.
In reality, as Lisser knew, Knightsbridge did not directly own any pre-IPO shares in the Pre-IPO Companies and was not on the capitalization table of any of the Pre-IPO Companies. Lisser also knew that he and other Knightsbridge employees earned money, including commissions, from the investments at the time they were made.
As a result of this scheme, Lisser raised approximately $2.1 million from 71 investors and misappropriated more than $900,000 to make payments to companies controlled by Knightsbridge employees, pay salaries and sales commissions, pay his personal credit card bill, and make payments on a mortgage.
As a stimulation to his plea agreement, on May 6, 2021, Lisser agreed to deliver an official check in the amount of $1,716,952,49 within 7 days to be deposited into an interest-bearing account pending sentencing.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) also announced charges against Lisser on December 1, 2020 (read the full SEC Complaint).
The SEC case was put on hold pending the outcome of the criminal case.
Prior to creating Knightsbridge, Lisser worked for several brokers from 2001 – 2016 and had a less than stellar broker record. FINRA expelled four of the six firms that employed Lisser, and Lisser had 7 customer complaints go before FINRA (4 were settled, 1 was denied, and 2 were still pending). Lisser’s last firm, Garden State Securities, fired Lisser due to the pending and historical customer complaints. Lisser concealed his broker history from Knightbridge’s investors during the scheme.
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
