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… Read More
Court Enters Judgments Custodianship Shell Amogear Stock Scheme
On March 23, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the federal court in Boston, Massachusetts entered judgments by consent against Andrew Affa, Michael Affa, Mitchell Brown, Christopher Putnam, and Christopher Nix in a fraud action… Read More
Court Enters Nearly $2 Million Judgment Against Gregory Jones for Defrauding Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on March 23, 2016 that a federal court has ordered a nearly $2 million judgment from an attorney who admitted to defrauding investors in two fraudulent schemes. The Honorable John McBryde,… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Fraudster Bruce Strebinger
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on March 21, 2016 that on March 15, 2016, the Honorable Leigh Martin May of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered a final judgment against defendant Bruce… Read More
Former Microsoft Manager Charged with Insider Trading Ahead of Acquisition of Nokia
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on March 18, 2016 that former Microsoft Corporation senior manager, John Hardy III has agreed to pay nearly $380,000 to settle charges that he traded on material nonpublic information about Microsoft’s… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Insider Trading Defendant Yue Han
On March 16, 2016, the Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against defendant Yue Han, based on insider trading charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Han on November… Read More
SEC Charges Mark Jones for a Ponzi Scheme Purporting to Offer “Bridge Loans” to Jamaican Businesses
On March 15, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged former Boston resident Mark Jones with operating a $10 million Ponzi scheme that claimed to generate profits from “bridge loans” to businesses in Jamaica. The SEC… Read More
CEO of RVPlus Charged with Soliciting Fake Contracts with Foreign Governments
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a microcap company CEO for falsely claiming to have a lucrative relationship with the United Nations and billions of dollars in clean energy contracts with foreign governments. The SEC alleges that… Read More
SEC Charges Daniel Thibeault with Misappropriating Millions in Investor Funds
On March 14, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on March 3, 2016, Daniel Thibeault, the President/CEO of a group of Massachusetts-based investment advisory companies, pled guilty to criminal charges in connection with the misappropriation… Read More
California Businessman Daniel Nase Stole Investor Funds and Tried to Conceal It
On March 11, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges against California businessman Daniel Nase, accusing him of stealing investor assets and then trying to cover it up once the SEC caught onto his… Read More
Nedko Nedev Charged for Fraudulent Scheme Related to the Stock of Avon Products
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on March 11, 2016 that a federal grand jury in Manhattan has indicted Bulgarian resident Nedko Nedev for fraud relating to the stocks of Avon Products, Inc., Tower Group… Read More
3 Executives of Aequitas Management LLC Charged with Fraud
On March 11, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged an Oregon-based investment group and three top executives with hiding the rapidly deteriorating financial condition of its enterprise while raising more than $350 million from investors. Aequitas… Read More
Do State Blue Sky Laws Apply To Regulation D Offerings?
Issuers are sometimes unaware of the state laws that apply to offerings that are exempt under the federal securities laws. The purchase or sale of a security be subject to a registration statement under the Securities… Read More
Uni-Pixel Inc. Charged with Misleading Investors About New Touchscreen Sensor Product
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that Uni-Pixel Inc., developer of technologies for touchscreen devices, has agreed to pay $750,000 to settle charges that it misled investors about the production status and sales agreements for a key product…. Read More
SEC Charges Jay Fung with Insider Trading in the Stock of Pharmasset Inc.
On March 9, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that a Florida man trading on inside information ahead of a pharmaceutical company merger and a friend who tipped him have agreed to settle enforcement actions against… Read More
Court Denies Motion to Reconsider Summary Judgment Against June Fujinaga
On March 4, 2016, the Honorable James C. Mahan, United States District Judge for the District of Nevada, entered an order denying a motion for reconsideration of the final judgment filed by relief defendants June Fujinaga and her… Read More
SEC Charges Banc de Binary with Acting as an Unregistered Broker-Dealer
The SEC filed a complaint in 2013 against Banc de Binary Ltd, its founder Oren Shabat Laurent, and three affiliates that operate an Internet-based based trading platform for “binary options.” One of these websites is www.bbinary.com. The SEC’s… Read More
Wells Fargo and Rhode Island Agency Charged with Fraud
On March 7, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a Rhode Island agency and its bond underwriter Wells Fargo Securities with defrauding investors in a municipal bond offering to finance startup video game company 38 Studios…. Read More
Court Reaches Verdict Against Daryl Payton and Benjamin Durant for Insider Trading
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has obtained a jury verdict in its favor in a federal district court trial in Manhattan against Daryl Payton and Benjamin Durant, III, who the agency charged with trading on inside information… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgments Against Zachary Zwerko and David Post
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on March 1, 2016, the Honorable Richard J. Sullivan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments on consent against defendants Zachary… Read More
Final Judgment Entered Against Nan Huang for Insider Trading
On February 26, 2016 the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a memorandum opinion and final judgment against Nan Huang, who a jury found liable last month for insider trading on information he improperly… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Francis Canellas
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on February 24, 2016, the Honorable Valerie E. Caproni of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a judgment against defendant Francis Canellas. The… Read More
Court Enters Final Partial Judgment Against Paul Petrello for Insider Trading Scheme
The Honorable Michael A. Shipp, United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey, has entered a partial final consent judgment against defendant Paul Petrello, one of four individuals charged with engaging in an elaborate insider trading… Read More
SEC Charges TexStar Oil and Nathan Halsey with Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Nathan Halsey and TexStar Oil, Ltd. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, with fraudulently offering securities through misleading investment materials and keeping funds from investors… Read More
Court Issues Final Judgments Against Scott Valente and the ELIV Group
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on February 17, 2016, Judge Vincent L. Briccetti of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Defendants Scott Valente and his… Read More
SEC Charges 9 More Defendants in Hacked News Release Scheme with Fraud
On February 18, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed fraud charges against nine defendants for taking part in an international scheme to execute profitable securities trades based on nonpublic information that computer hackers stole from at least two… Read More
Randy Hamdan Consents to Settling Market Manipulation Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that, on February 17, 2016, Judge Nancy Edmunds of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan entered final judgments, on the consents of defendants Randy Hamdan and Oracle Consultants,… Read More
6 Charged for Violating Antifraud Provisions of the Federal Securities Laws
On February 16, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged PV Enterprises, Inc. (“PVEC”) and Panagiotis Villiotis (“Villiotis”) with violations of the registration and antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC also charged Virtual Sourcing, Inc…. Read More
Michael Affa Sentenced in Microcap Case
On February 12, 2016, a federal court in Boston, Massachusetts sentenced Michael Affa, of Toms Rivers, New Jersey, to 33 months in prison and ordered him to pay a fine of $1 million in a criminal case prosecuted by… Read More
Attorney Adam Tracy & the Nefarious World of Custodianship Shells
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) says it doesn’t like over-the-counter shell companies, and would like to see them gone from the marketplace. To that end, its Enforcement Division cooked up an initiative it called “Operation Shell-Expel”. It… Read More
