penny stocks

SEC Charges Windsor Street Capital/Meyers Associates for Alleged Conduct in Pump-and-Dump Scheme

February 27, 2017 | Silver Law Group

The SEC announced charges against New York-based brokerage firm Windsor Street Capital (CRD# 34171), formerly Meyers Associates, L.P., for gatekeeper failures related to a pump-and-dump scheme. John D. Telfer (CRD# 1099745) was also charged as chief compliance officer and anti-money laundering officer of Windsor Street Capital from November 2013 to his separation from the firm in September 2016.

According to the SEC complaint, Windsor Street Capital (“Windsor Street”) violated Section 5 of the Securities Act after it facilitated the unregistered sale of hundreds of millions of penny stock shares without performing adequate due diligence regarding the Section 5 compliance of the shares.

The penny stock companies were MedGen, Inc.; Alternaturals, Inc.; Manzo Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and Solpower, Inc. According to the complaint, Windsor Street Capital failed to file suspicious activity reports for $24.8 million in suspicious transactions, including those occurring in accounts controlled by microcap stock financiers Raymond H. Barton and William G. Goode, who were separately charged.

Recidivist Fraudster Edward Durante is Indicted for Scamming Investors out of $11 Million Through the Sale of VGTel

March 16, 2016 | Silver Law Group

After serving 10 years in prison for prior securities law violations, investment fraud orchestrator Edward Durante is back in the news for allegations of a penny stock pump-and-dump scheme.

Durante was criminally charged in December 2015 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and civilly charged by the Securities Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for defrauding at least 50 investors out of at least $11 million through the sale of securities of VGTel, Inc. (“VGTel”), a shell company Durante controlled.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Durante sold approximately six millions shares of VGTel stock to investors using various fictitious names to hide his criminal past, including “Edward Wise,” “Ted Wise,” “Efran Eisenberg,” and “Anthony Walsh.” He solicited and enlisted the aid of Larry Werbel (CRD# 828351) and his adviser firm Evolution Partners Wealth Management, LLC (“Evolution Partners”), Sheik Khan (CRD# 2448117), Christopher Cervino (CRD# 2778817), Walter Reissman, and Kenneth Wise to help perpetrate the scheme, according to the complaint.

Should You Trust Penny Stocks Endorsed by Celebrities?

July 24, 2015 | Silver Law Group

A big name may not always equal big opportunity.

It’s all around us. Branded tennis shoes, hats and apparel worn by top-ranked, world-famous tennis players. NASCAR drivers and their cars blanketed in corporate logos. Famous models and actresses designing and promoting furniture lines. Top-selling country singers performing with beverage company logos adorning their stages, their tour buses and their fan t-shirts. Everywhere we turn, companies are promoting themselves with the help of famous people.

Why should penny stocks be any different?