The SEC announced on December 14, 2018 charges against Thomas Laws, the former CEO of Santa Fe Gold Corporation, for the misappropriation of investor funds. The SEC also obtained an asset freeze against Thomas Laws. The SEC’s complaint, unsealed on December 6, 2018, alleges that, from at least August 2016 through February 2018, Santa Fe Gold, [&hellip…
Read MoreThe SEC announced on December 3,2018 fraud charges against a Florida-based CPA, a former broker, and his spouse, for their roles in a fraudulent scheme involving the creation and sale of a public shell company and false regulatory filings to facilitate the sale. According to the SEC, David Dreslin and Michael Toups created a shell […]
Read MoreOn November 9, 2018, the Honorable Nicholas G. Garaufis of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against defendant Steven Newman. The final judgment imposes on Newman a permanent injunction against future violations of certain antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and bars Newman from [&h…
Read MoreThe former CEO and CFO of a now-defunct Dallas and New Orleans-based disaster remediation and construction business, Home Solutions of America, Inc have agreed to pay disgorgement and penalties to settle accounting fraud charges brought by the SEC. In addition, the SEC has asked the Court to convert the injunctive relief previously ordered against the [&hell…
Read MoreOn July 26, 2018, the Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a civil injunctive action against John A. Paulsen, a former managing director and fixed income research analyst at a registered broker-dealer, for aiding and abetting a pay-to-play scheme involving the New York State Common Retirement Fund. As alleged in the SEC’s complaint, from…
Read MorePublic companies with shares traded on OTC Markets OTC Link® ATS are organized into three unique market places. In part, the trading market depends upon whether the issuer is required to comply with the SEC Reporting Requirements. The OTC Markets provides venues for both domestic and foreign issuers and provides a unique platform for foreign […]
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog The Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) provides for a private offering or private placement exemption from federal securities registration which is increasingly being used by companies seeking to raise capital during market downturns and in times of market uncertainty. While the term “private offering” leaves…
Read MoreOn November 2, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Osiris Therapeutics, a Maryland-based biotech company, and four former top executives with prioritizing revenue growth over lawful accounting and misleading investors in the process. The SEC alleges that Osiris Therapeutics routinely overstated company performance and iss…
Read MoreOn June 6, 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged David Fuselier, a chief executive officer, with perpetrating a fraudulent scheme to create the false appearance of improvement in the financial statements of two publicly traded companies by removing significant liabilities. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court i…
Read MoreOn 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 Novus Robotics, Inc.), a penny stock company whose securities were quoted on the OTC Bulletin Board…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Gordon Jenkins, Theodore Sweeten, Francis Kreais and Craig Parkinson with orchestrating an offering fraud involving the sale of interests in a purported mining company, Arco Hills Silica Company. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in Idaho, alleges that, beginning in January 20…
Read MoreOn August 22, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced that it has charged John Ragsdale of South Carolina with aiding and abetting a penny stock fraud involving now-defunct U.S. public company Global Earth Energy, Inc. (Global Earth), formerly based in Wilmington, North Carolina. The SEC’s complaint, filed in the U.S…
Read MoreOn 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 that the company was a budding leader in cyber arms manufacturing and s…
Read MoreOn 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 of developing waste processing and recycling facilities. The SEC’s complaint, filed in federal court in the District [&…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission announced fraud charges against a Massachusetts-based biotech company and three former executives for misleading investors about the company’s efforts to obtain Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its flagship developmental drug to treat kidney cancer. The SEC alleges that AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc. con…
Read MoreOn March 25, 2016 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fraud charges and asset freezes obtained in a case filed against a New Jersey-based fund manager and two firms he controls that marketed shares in promising pre-IPO tech companies in the Bay Area. The SEC alleges they stole $5.7 million from investors and diverted millions […]
Read MoreOn 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 also charged the brokerage firm that acted as the placement agent, Portfolio Advisors Alliance, and its pr…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on October 9, 2015, that on October 7, 2015, it secured a summary judgment on all of its claims against Andrew Farmer in a market manipulation case involving the securities of Chimera Energy Corp. The SEC suspended trading in Chimera Energy stock in 2012. In its memorandum and order, the Honorable [&hel…
Read MoreOn September 22, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed, under seal, fraud charges and, on September 28, obtained asset freezes against the operator of a worldwide pyramid scheme that falsely promised investors would profit from a venture supposedly backed by the company’s massive amber holdings. The SEC claims that defendants Steve Chen, U…
Read MoreOn September 3, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Manny J. Shulman and David Hirschman for their involvement in the fraudulent, unregistered sale of securities of Caribbean Pacific Marketing, Inc. (“Caribbean Pacific”), a now-defunct Florida corporation that purported to be a sun-care and skin-care products…
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on August 24th, 2015, the Honorable Sarah Evans Barker of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted the SEC’s motion for summary judgment against Defendant Timothy E. Cook, a resident of Indianapolis, Indiana. The Court found that Cook violated the an…
Read MoreThe Anti-Fraud Provisions And Regulation A+ On March 25, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules amending Regulation A. The new rules are often referred to as Regulation A+. These rules are designed to facilitate smaller companies’ access to capital. Regulation A+’s new rules provide investors with more investment choices an…
Read MoreThe final Regulation A+ rules amend Rule 262 to include bad actor disqualification provisions as adopted under Rule 506(d) of Regulation D. Consistent with the disqualification provisions of Rule 506(d), the final rules add two additional disqualification triggers to those existing in Regulation A. The two new disqualification triggers are Securities &…
Read MoreOn April 9, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Big Apple Consulting USA Inc., MJMM Investments, LLC, Marc Jablon and Mark Kaley, case number 13-11976. The appellate panel affirmed the district court’s ruling in its entirety. In 2009, […]
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced that on April 7, 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Jonathan E. Bryant which ordered him to pay $3,168,184.70 in connection with his role as the Chief Executive Officer of 8000, Inc., a defunct former penny […]
Read MorePosted By Brenda Hamilton, Securities Lawyer The OTC Markets offer several different tiers for companies to choose from when considering their services. These are the OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink marketplaces. Companies that are trading on the OTC Markets span a broad range of sectors, from the ADRs of large cap conglomerates, to small and […]
Read MoreThe OTC Markets offers several different tiers for companies to chose from when considering their services. These are the OTCQX, OTCQB and OTC Pink marketplaces. Companies going public on the OTC Markets span a broad range of sectors, from the ADRs of large cap conglomerates to small and micro-cap growth companies, SEC reporting companies and […]
Read MoreOn June 27, 2014, the U.S. District Court of Nevada issued an order imposing sanctions against a securities attorney, Marcus Luna, three other individuals – Nathan Montgomery, Adam Daskivich, and David Murtha – and their businesses for their roles in a multi-million dollar scheme.
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog On May 28, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission ( “SEC”) announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered final judgment by consent against Inofin Inc.’s chief operating officer, Melissa George. Among other things, the judgment ordered George to pay a total of $177,431.69 i…
Read MoreSecurities Lawyer 101 Blog May 29, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that a Florida husband and wife were charged last year with defrauding seniors through a purported charitable organization and agreed to pay more than $2 million and be barred from the securities industry.
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