The SEC charged two Florida-based attorneys for their roles in an offering fraud conducted by a transfer agent that was the subject of an SEC enforcement action two months ago.
The SEC alleges that the two attorneys were designated to receive wire transfers of funds from investors who were solicited by cold callers using boiler room tactics to convince them their investments would yield high rates of return. Wiring the money to a licensed attorney bolstered the appearance of safety in the investment opportunity and concealed from investors how the money was really being spent after one of them received the funds. The individuals merely kept 2 percent of the funds they received from investors and transferred the remaining amounts to another individual, who promptly used it for personal expenses or to make Ponzi-like payments instead of investing in the high-yield investments or discounted stock promised to investors. The SEC charged one of the attorneys and his firm International Stock Transfer Inc. (IST) with fraud in July.
The two attorneys were arrested earlier today in parallel criminal actions brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Read more here.
