SEC CHARGED UNREGISTERED BROKER WITH STEALING INVESTOR FUNDS IN DAY TRADING INVESTOR SCHEME

FROM:   U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
11/18/2014 05:30 PM EST

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an unregistered broker living outside Tampa, Fla., with stealing investor funds as part of a fraudulent day trading scheme.

The SEC alleges that Albert J. Scipione and his business partner solicited investors to establish accounts at their company called Traders Café for the purposes of day trading, which entails the rapid buying and selling of stocks throughout the day in hope that the stock values continue climbing or falling for the seconds to minutes they own them so they can lock in quick profits.  Scipione touted Traders Café’s software trading platform and made a series of false misrepresentations to investors about low commissions and fees, high trading leverage, and safety of their assets.  More than $500,000 was raised from investors who were assured that funds invested with Traders Café would be segregated and used only for day trading or other specific business purposes.  However, many customers encountered technical service problems that prevented them from trading at all, and Scipione and his business partner squandered nearly all of the money in investor accounts for their personal use.  Meanwhile, Traders Café was never registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer as required under the federal securities laws.

“Scipione portrayed Traders Café as a broker-dealer for customers interested in day trading, but it became merely a depository from which he stole investor funds for himself,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office.

The SEC previously charged Scipione’s business partner Matthew P. Ionno, who agreed to settle the case and has been barred from the securities industry.  Financial penalties will be decided by the court at a later date.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida today announced that Scipione has pleaded guilty to criminal charges.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office previously brought a criminal case against Ionno.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed against Scipione in federal court in Tampa, customers across the country deposited approximately $367,000 with Traders Café from December 2012 to October 2013 with the intention of opening day trading accounts.  Traders Café also received approximately $150,000 from an investor who invested directly in Traders Café’s business. Customers encountered problems with Traders Café from the outset, and many of them cancelled their accounts and requested refunds of their remaining account balances.  Scipione and Ionno tried to cover up their fraudulent scheme by offering excuses and delays for why customers could not get refunds.  Eventually less than $1,200 remained in Traders Café’s accounts primarily due to the repeated misuse of investor funds by Scipione and Ionno.

The SEC’s complaint against Scipione alleges that he violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 as well as Section 15(a) and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5.  The SEC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, financial penalties, and permanent injunctive relief to enjoin Scipione from future violations of the federal securities laws.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by D. Corey Lawson and Tonya T. Tullis, and the SEC’s litigation is being led by Christopher E. Martin.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.

COURT ENTERS JUDGEMENT AGAINST BROKER FOR SELLING UNREGISTERED STOCK IN ALZHEIMER'S TREATMENT COMPANY

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Court Enters Judgment Against Unregistered Broker for Role in Investment Scheme Involving Purported Alzheimer's Treatment

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on July 31, 2014, a California federal court entered a final judgment against Kenneth Gross, of Porter Ranch, California, who was named as a defendant in an action filed by the Commission in June 2013. The Commission charged Gross with selling unregistered stock in Your Best Memories International Inc. without being registered as a broker-dealer as required by the federal securities laws. Your Best Memories was a California company purportedly raising money for a Massachusetts-based company in the business of developing products intended to improve memory function in individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease and other conditions. Gross consented to the entry of this judgment.

The final judgment entered by the United States District Court for the Central District of California holds Gross liable for disgorgement of $269,000, representing money he was paid for the sale of unregistered securities, plus prejudgment interest of $10,897.81, but waives payment of the disgorgement and interest and does not impose a civil penalty based on Gross's financial condition. Previously, the court entered a partial judgment on March 14, 2014, based on Gross's consent, which enjoined him from violating Sections 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act of 1933 (the securities registration provisions of the Securities Act) and Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the broker-dealer registration provisions of the Exchange Act). The Commission also issued an Order against Gross on June 6, 2014, permanently barring him from the securities industry.

On June 10, 2014, the Court entered final judgments by default against the other Defendants in the action, Your Best Memories, its president, Robert Hurd, and Smokey Canyon Financial Inc., another company controlled by Hurd. The Commission charged Your Best Memories and Hurd with misleading investors about how their funds would be used and making misleading statements that one of the products touted to investors had received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. The final judgments imposed permanent injunctions prohibiting Your Best Memories and Hurd from future violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws, ordered Your Best Memories, Hurd, and Smokey Canyon to pay $963,000 in disgorgement plus prejudgment interest of $34,170, and ordered Your Best Memories and Hurd to pay a civil penalty of $963,000.

SEC FILES INJUNCTIVE ACTION AGAINST ALLEGED FRAUDULENT PROMISSORY NOTE OPERATOR

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
SEC Files Civil Injunctive Action Against Alleged Perpetrator and Unregistered Broker in Fraudulent Promissory Note Offering

On September 9, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil injunctive action in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against Brian G. Elrod for allegedly conducting a fraudulent offering of promissory notes for which Nova Dean Pack acted as an unregistered broker. Elrod and Pack reside in Buffalo Creek, Colorado and Highland, California, respectively.

The Complaint alleges that, from at least March 2009 through November 2009, Elrod and Pack raised approximately $2 million from 12 investors who invested in high-yield promissory notes issued by CFS Holding Company LLC (“CFS”), a Colorado company owned and managed by Elrod. According to the Complaint, Elrod told investors that their investments were secured and guaranteed and would generate annual returns ranging from 12% to 24%. According to the Complaint, Elrod further represented to investors that the proceeds from their promissory notes would be used to expand a group of financial services companies owned and managed by Elrod. The Complaint alleges that the foregoing representations, among others, were false and misleading when made, and that Elrod, rather than use investor money for legitimate business purposes, improperly used most of the investor funds to make substantial payments to himself and family members and to pay for personal expenses, to pay Pack significant commissions for referring investors, and to make interest payments back to investors. According to the Complaint, the CFS note offering was not registered with the Commission, and Pack was not an associated person of a registered broker or dealer at the time he participated in the CFS note offering.

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations, Elrod and Pack agreed to settle the case against them. The settlement is pending final approval by the court. Specifically, Elrod consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”) and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and requiring him to pay disgorgement of $1,720,491, the amount of his ill-gotten gains, plus prejudgment interest of $295,817, and a civil penalty of $1,720,491. Pack consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from future violations of Section 5 of the Securities Act and Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act, and ordering disgorgement of $171,500 plus prejudgment interest of $25,177, but waiving payment and not imposing a civil penalty based upon his financial condition.