The SEC's Enforcement Division alleges that L&L Energy Inc., which has all of its operations in China and Taiwan, created the false appearance that the company had a professional management team in place when in reality Dickson Lee was single-handedly controlling the company's operations. An L&L Energy annual report falsely listed Lee's brother as the CEO and a woman as the acting CFO in spite of the fact that she had rejected Lee's offer to serve in the position the month before. L&L Energy and Lee continued to misrepresent that they had an acting CFO in the next three quarterly reports. Certifications required under the Sarbanes Oxley Act ostensibly bore the purported acting CFO's electronic signature. Lee and L&L Energy also allegedly misled NASDAQ to become listed on the exchange by falsely maintaining they had accurately made all of their required Sarbanes-Oxley certifications.
In a parallel action, a criminal indictment against Lee was unsealed today in federal court in Seattle. The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Washington is prosecuting the case.
"Lee and L&L Energy deceived the public by falsely representing that the company had a CFO, which is a critical gatekeeper in the management of public companies," said Antonia Chion, associate director in the SEC's Enforcement Division. "The integrity of Sarbanes-Oxley certifications is critical, and executives who manipulate the process will be held accountable for their misdeeds."
The SEC's order is online and its press release has the details.
