Wade James Lawrence Charged with Securities Fraud and Unauthorized Trading
On February 16, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Wade James Lawrence, a former investment adviser with two dually-registered securities firms, with executing unauthorized trades in his clients’ investment accounts and defrauding other individuals who tried to invest… Read More
Gregory Ruehle Charged with Defrauding Investors and Acting as an Unregistered Broker-Dealer
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged an unregistered broker in Oceanside, California with fraudulently selling purported stock in a medical device company and pocketing investors’ money. On February 10, 2016 the SEC filed fraud charges alleging that… Read More
Attorney Jilbert Tahmazian Charged with Fraud in a Prime Bank Scheme
On February 11, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Jilbert Tahmazian, a lawyer licensed in the state of California, with fraud for engaging in a prime bank scheme. Prime bank schemes involve the offer and sale of fictitious… Read More
Frank Lleras Charged with Conducting a Fraudulent Investment Scheme
On February 10, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Frank Lleras and two Charlotte, North Carolina-based companies that he controls, Optimum Income Property, LLC and Optimum Property Investments, LLC, with conducting an offering fraud lasting more… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Moazzam “Mark” Malik and Wolf Hedge LLC
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on February 9, 2016, the Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Defendants Moazzam “Mark” Malik, a Pakistani citizen and New York City resident,… Read More
Penny Stock Issuers and Their Principals Charged with Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged two penny stock issuers and their principals with fraud for disseminating false and misleading press releases and other related documents about purported involvement in the marijuana industry. The SEC’s complaint against… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Martin Weisberg
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on January 20, 2016, the Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against defendant Martin Weisberg. The final judgment imposes on Weisberg a permanent injunction… Read More
Insider Trading Defendant Herbert Sudfeld Found Guilty in a Related Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on February 5, 2016, a jury in federal court in Philadelphia returned a guilty verdict against Pennsylvania attorney Herbert Sudfeld (“Sudfeld”) in a criminal trial prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney… Read More
SEC Charges American Growth Funding II with Fraud
On February 3, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a lending company in Manhattan, American Growth Funding II LLC and its owner, Ralph Johnson, with repeatedly lying to investors who purchased high-yield securities. The SEC… Read More
SEC Enters Settlement Agreement with Concorde Bermuda Ltd.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it entered into a settlement agreement, subject to court approval, with Ukrainian-based Concorde Bermuda Ltd. (Concorde) in a case alleging a scheme to trade on hacked news releases. On August 10,… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Shirmila Doddi For Insider Trading
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on January 20, 2016, the Court for the District of Massachusetts entered a final judgment against defendant Shirmila Doddi, permanently enjoining her from future violations of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5…. Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against CEO of Polycom
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on January 26, 2016, the Honorable Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered a final judgment against Andrew Miller, the former CEO… Read More
Court Issues Asset Freeze Over Sedona Oil and Its President
On January 21, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an emergency civil action against a Dallas company, Sedona Oil and Gas Corporation and its president, Kenneth “Kenny” Crumbley, Jr., to stop their allegedly fraudulent offer and… Read More
SEC Charges Marquis Properties and Its Principals With Operating a Ponzi Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained an asset freeze and other ancillary relief against Marquis Properties, LLC, and its CEO/President Chad Deucher for orchestrating a $28 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 250 investors throughout… Read More
SEC Charges StratoComm Coporation with Illicit Sale of Securities
On October 4, 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in United States District Court for the Northern District of New York charging StratoComm Corporation, its CEO Roger Shearer, and its former Director of Investor… Read More
COR Clearing Subpoenas Retail Shareholder Trade Information
Last fall, we wrote about a highly unusual cash dividend paid by penny stock Calissio Resources Group, Inc. (CRGP). The payment process was so badly botched it resulted in a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) U3 trading… Read More
Court Approves Summary Judgment Against Stewart Merkin
On January 13, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed entry of summary judgment in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its claims of securities fraud against defendant Stewart Merkin… Read More
Pyramid Schemer Sanderly Rodrigues Incarcerated for Violation of Court Order
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that Sanderley Rodrigues de Vasconcelos (“Rodrigues”) of Davenport, Florida, who is charged with promoting a pyramid scheme, was ordered to jail for civil contempt arising from his repeated violations of Court… Read More
SEC Seeks Enforcement Against CEO of DecisionPoint
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Nicholas Toms seeking enforcement of the SEC Order requiring him to pay disgorgement of $85,918, representing profits… Read More
Court Denies Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss SEC Insider Trading Enforcement
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island denied defendants Anthony Andrade’s and Kenneth Rampino’s motion to dismiss an SEC insider trading action. The SEC’s complaint, filed June… Read More
SEC Charges Robert Crowe for Joining a Pay-to-Play Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Robert Crowe, a law firm partner who worked as a fundraiser and lobbyist for State Street Bank and Trust Company. The complaint alleges that Crowe participated in a… Read More
SEC Wins Insider Trading Case Against Capital One Employee
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained a jury verdict in its favor in a federal district court trial in Philadelphia against Nan Huang, who the agency charged with insider trading on information he illegally obtained from his… Read More
SEC Obtains Judgment Against Steven Davis
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on January 8, 2016, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a judgment against defendant Steven Davis. The judgment resolves all issues of liability… Read More
DTC Imposes Corporate Action DTC Eligibility Fee
On December 30, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published a notice that it was soliciting comments for a proposed rule change submitted by The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) filed a pursuant to section 19(b)(3)(A) of the… Read More
Martin Shkreli Charged with Securities Fraud
On December 17, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Martin Shkreli, former CEO of pharmaceutical company Retrophin, with committing fraud during a 5-year period when he also was working as a hedge fund manager. He is… Read More
SEC Obtains Asset Freeze of Oxford City Football Club
On December 10, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint that charged Oxford City Football Club, Inc. and its CEO, Thomas Anthony Guerriero, with securities fraud and other violations of the federal securities laws. The… Read More
Court Issues Final Judgment Against Auditor Timothy Quintanilla
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that, on December 4, 2015, the Court for the Southern District of New York issued a final judgment, on consent of defendant Timothy Quintanilla, which permanently enjoined him from violating… Read More
SEC Charges Vinh Le and His Company with Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on December 15, 2015, it filed charges against Vu Le a/k/a Vinh Le and his company, TeamVinh.com LLC (“TeamVinh”), in connection with their fraudulent raising of more than $3 million from… Read More
SEC Charges Edward Durante with Securities Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Edward Durante, a recidivist securities law violator with operating a multi-year offering fraud that targeted investors in New England, Ohio and California. The SEC’s complaint alleges that between 2012 and 2014,… Read More
Information About Foreign Issuers and Foreign Companies
The U.S. capital markets have long been a desired goal for foreign companies that are interested in raising funds or establishing a trading market for their securities. Two of the most important laws applicable to companies seeking to… Read More
