Securities Arbitration Lawyers BlogWells Fargo Financial Advisor Donald Toomer, Jr. of Las Vegas, Nevada Accused of Penny Stock Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Samuel DelPresto and his company with illicitly pocketing $13 million from an elaborate pump-and-dump scheme with the assistance of Donald Toomer, Jr.
The SEC alleges that DelPresto and others teamed up to secretly obtain control of substantially all available stock in four microcap companies and to facilitate coordinated trading that created the appearance of liquidity and market demand for the stocks. After unwitting investors were enticed through promotional campaigns to buy the stock at inflated prices, DelPresto dumped his shares on the market.
“The series of fraudulent schemes alleged in our complaint enticed unwitting investors to pay inflated prices for four companies secretly controlled by DelPresto and others and then left the investors holding the bag when the manipulative activity ceased and the stock price dropped,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Regional Director of the SEC’s New York office regarding the SEC action.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey filed criminal charges against DelPresto and Toomer.
According to the SEC’s complaint, the microcap companies manipulated by Defendants were: NXT Nutritionals Holdings (NXTH), Mesa Energy Holdings (MSEH), and Clear-Lite Holdings (CLRH).
The SEC complaint alleges Donald Toomer, Jr., a Las Vegas-based financial advisor with Wells Fargo allegedly agreed to buy shares of three microcap stocks in client accounts in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash kickbacks.
According to the SEC, Toomer abused his role as a financial advisor to help create the false appearance of market demand in these stocks and facilitate the pump-and-dump scheme. Tommer was registered as a stockbroker with Wells Fargo until December 2015 when the SEC allegations were made public.
Silver Law Group has successfully recovered multi-million dollar awards for its clients in a wide variety of investment fraud cases throughout the country and abroad. If you have questions about your legal rights, or have been the victim of fraud, contact Scott L. Silver to discuss your legal matter in a free consultation. CONTACT Silver Law Group: Telephone: (800) 975-4345 (Toll Free); Web site: www.silverlaw.com; E-mail: ssilver@silverlaw.com.