September 27, 2023
A Boston federal jury on Wednesday found two British Columbia residents violated securities laws by participating in a $144 million penny stock scheme that allegedly featured shell companies, encrypted messages and James Bond-like code names.
September 26, 2023
The trial of two Canadian nationals accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of participating in a $144 million penny-stock fraud scheme closed Tuesday, with defense attorneys attacking the government's cooperating witnesses as convicted felons willing to stretch the truth for a lighter sentence.
September 20, 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was denied partial summary judgment Tuesday on claims against a pair of Canadian investors over alleged penny stock fraud, with a Boston federal judge saying evidence in support of the motion was insufficient.
September 12, 2023
Two Canadian nationals facing securities fraud claims over an alleged multimillion-dollar pump-and-dump scheme told a Boston federal jury Tuesday that their contributions to the stock sale operation were above board, but put to ill use by the mastermind and others involved.
September 11, 2023
Players in a multimillion-dollar pump-and-dump fraud scheme communicated with James Bond-esque code names on encrypted messaging platforms with secret "xPhones" to duck U.S. securities laws and unload shares of thinly traded penny stocks on unwitting investors, Boston jurors heard Monday at the start of a civil enforcement trial.
February 15, 2023
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has asked a federal judge in Boston to approve consent judgments that would see a pair of defendants pay roughly $6.2 million combined to settle claims over their alleged role in "a sophisticated, multiyear, multinational" penny stock pump-and-dump scheme targeting companies, including a cannabis venture.
December 09, 2021
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission urged a Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday to deny a dismissal motion from a Canadian man accused of being involved in an alleged multimillion-dollar scheme to dump penny stocks on retail investors.
December 01, 2021
A Canadian woman accused of being involved in an alleged multimillion-dollar scheme to dump penny stocks on retail investors urged a Massachusetts federal judge Tuesday to dismiss a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission suit against her, arguing the agency's claims are time-barred.
November 17, 2021
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently expanded disgorgement power is being challenged by a defendant in a microcap fraud case who says the agency is improperly trying to seek disgorgement on claims that became time-barred years ago.