Court Enters Final Judgments Against Paul Downey and Two Others
On September 29, the Honorable Sam R. Cummings of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas entered final judgments against Defendants Paul Downey, Jeffry Downey, and John Leonard. The judgments followed summary-judgment rulings in… Read More
Louis Buonocore and 4 Others Charged for Operating a Fraudulent Penny Stock Scheme
On September 29, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged five individuals for engaging in a fraudulent scheme to illegally profit by manipulating the market and price for the stock of Ecoland International, Inc. (now known as… Read More
Marcus Luna and Norell Walker Charged in Penny Stock Scam
On September 30, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged an attorney and three others in California with defrauding investors out of $13.6 million in a penny stock pump-and-dump scheme. The SEC alleges that Marcus Luna and… Read More
Former CEO of Gerova Financial Gary Hirst Charged with Securities Fraud
On September 28, 2016, a federal court jury in New York, New York convicted Gary Hirst, the former CEO and President of Gerova Financial Group Ltd., of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges. The criminal… Read More
SEC Charges Former Stockbroker Peter Kohli with Fraud and Orders an Asset Freeze
On September 28, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced charges and an emergency asset freeze against former stockbroker Peter Kohli for defrauding investors in his failing mutual fund business. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Philadelphia,… Read More
SEC Charges CEO Craig Sizer of Microcap Company with Fraud
On September 26, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged a former microcap company CEO and a boiler room operator with defrauding seniors and others who were pressured to invest in a pair of penny stock companies… Read More
Jason Wallace Charged for Pump and Dump Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a civil injunctive action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Jason Wallace alleging that he violated the antifraud and registration requirements of the federal securities laws… Read More
Alternative Fuel Company KiOR, Inc. Charged with Failure of Full Disclosure
On September 26, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Texas-based Mard, Inc., formerly known as KiOR, Inc., and its former CEO and President Fred Cannon for failing to disclose important assumptions about the yield that KiOR had… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgment Against Daniel Thibeault for $15 Million Fraud
On September 26, 2016, the Honorable Nathaniel M. Gorton of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered a final judgment against Daniel Thibeault, of Framingham, Massachusetts. Thibeault is a defendant in an SEC enforcement… Read More
Pro Basketball Player Defrauded by Investment Advisor Charles Banks
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced on September 12, 2016 that it has charged Atlanta-based investment adviser Charles Augustus Banks, IV with defrauding a former professional basketball player by inducing him to invest in a sports team apparel… Read More
Mark Bloom and Firm North Hills Management LLC Charged with Fraud
On September 6, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) obtained a final judgment against Mark Evan Bloom and his advisory firm, North Hills Management, LLC, for securities fraud in a civil enforcement action filed on February 25,… Read More
SEC Obtains Emergency Order to Prevent Anthony Buzaneli from Leaving U.S.
On August 26, 2016, Judge Susan Richard Nelson of the District of Minnesota issued an order requiring Anthony Buzaneli to surrender his passports and prohibiting him from leaving the United States until further order of the Court. The… Read More
SEC Files Complaint Against Dennis Hamilton of Harman International Industries
On February 5, 2016, the SEC filed a complaint charging Dennis Wayne Hamilton with insider trading in the company’s stock and making more than $130,000 in illegal profits by trading on nonpublic information he learned on the… Read More
SEC Charges Enviro Board Corporation and Two Executives with Fraud
On August 26, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Enviro Board Corporation and two of its executives with using baseless financial projections and other misleading statements to defraud investors in a venture to manufacture environmentally-friendly building materials…. Read More
SEC Charges Secured Income Reserve and Former Officers with Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed fraud charges against Secured Income Reserve, Inc. and three of its former officers alleging that Income Reserve, Ilona Mandelbaum of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., David Zimmerman of Boca Raton, Fla., and… Read More
Global Digital Solutions of West Palm Beach, FL and CEO Charged with Fraud
On August 12, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged West Palm Beach-based Global Digital Solutions, former chairman and CEO Richard Sullivan, and former CFO David Loppert with defrauding investors by issuing false and misleading press releases purporting… Read More
Football Player Merrill Robertson Jr. Charged with Running a $10 Million Fraud
On August 10, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Merrill Robertson Jr., a former player for the Philadelphia Eagles, with defrauding investors, including former coaches he knew from his time playing football for the Fork Union… Read More
Cardiologist Dr. Edward Kosinski Charged with Insider Trading
On August 4, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged a cardiologist with insider trading on confidential developments as he worked on a clinical drug trial. The SEC alleges that Dr. Edward Kosinski of Weston, Connecticut, traded… Read More
Court Finds Jeffry and Paul Downey and John Leonard Guilty of Oil and Gas Fraud
On July 25, the Honorable Sam R. Cummings of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas granted summary judgment for the SEC on all claims against the father-and-son duo of Paul and Jeffry Downey,… Read More
Three Fraudsters on a Shopping Spree Met with an Asset Freeze
On July 28, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an asset freeze it has obtained against three men who aren’t registered to sell investments and allegedly went on lavish shopping sprees with more than $5 million raised from… Read More
SEC Charges the Luca Entities with Eb-5 Investment Fraud
On July 26, 2016, the Honorable Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California entered a final judgment against Luca International Group, LLC, Luca Resources Group, LLC, Luca Energy Fund, LLC… Read More
JNL Oilfield Instruments and Founder Jeffery McCollum Charged with Operating a Ponzi Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has charged Odessa, Texas-based JNL Oilfield Instruments, LLC and its founder Jeffery McCollum with operating a multi-year Ponzi scheme. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in the U.S. District Court… Read More
SEC Nails Pot Stock Promoters
On July 9, the Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) settled with Alexander Hawatmeh and Christopher Mrowca who allegedly received more than $2.5 million by manipulating penny stock pot stocks. According to the proposed judgments filed in the US District… Read More
Court Issues Asset Freeze Over James Hugh Brennan and Douglas Albert Dyer in Fraud Case
On July 22, 2016, the Honorable Travis R. McDonough of the Eastern District of Tennessee entered a court-ordered asset freeze to halt an ongoing fraud by two former brokers with disciplinary histories who allegedly raised more than $5… Read More
SEC Charges Thomas Conrad and His Son with Fraud
On Friday, July 15, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Thomas Conrad, Jr. and his son, Stuart Conrad, and their two unregistered advisory firms, Financial Management Corporation (“FMC”) and Financial Management Corporation, S.R.L. (“FMC Uruguay”), with defrauding… Read More
Court Enters Final Judgments in Sky Capital Boiler Room Case
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that on April 8th the Honorable Paul A. Crotty of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments on consent against defendants Stephen Shea,… Read More
David Aubel and Robert Raffa Charged with Stock Manipulation Scheme
On April 7th, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges against two men behind a scheme to manipulate the stock of Green Energy Renewable Solutions, Inc., a company that purported to be in the business… Read More
Navistar International Reaches Settlement Agreement with SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Navistar International Corp. with misleading investors about its development of an advanced technology truck engine that could be certified to meet U.S. emission standards. Navistar, without admitting or denying the charges,… Read More
Daniel and Matthew Rivera Charged for Running a Ponzi Scheme Directed at Seniors
On March 24, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged two brothers, and a company that they founded purportedly to develop and sell real estate, with engaging in a $2.7 million Ponzi scheme that targeted approximately 30,… Read More
SEC Charges Andrew Caspersen with Defrauding Two Institutions
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a New York-based securities professional with defrauding two institutions he solicited to invest in a shell company he controlled whose name was deceptively similar to that of a legitimate private equity… Read More
