SEC Press press_release 8 KB 4,419 chars

Press Release: SEC and British Columbia Securities Commission Charge Two Canadians With Greyfield Stock Manipulation; 2006-187; Nov. 8, 2006

Release: 2006-187
Caption: Securities and Exchange Commission v. Greyfield Promoters, et al.

summary

Mervin Fiessel and Robert Doherty, two Canadian residents, orchestrated a cross-border stock manipulation scheme by illegally seizing control of Greyfield Capital, issuing hundreds of millions of unauthorized shares, and falsely claiming it acquired a car dealership, resulting in disgorgement of over $173,000 USD and a Cdn.$144,445 penalty for Fiessel, while both received permanent trading and directorship bans.

paragraph

Mervin Fiessel and Robert Doherty were charged by the SEC and BCSC for manipulating the stock of Greyfield Capital, Inc., a pink sheet company, through unauthorized corporate actions that stole its identity and falsely claimed it had acquired the Autorama car dealership. They issued hundreds of millions of unauthorized shares, promoted misleading publicity, and sold tens of millions of shares, generating illicit profits—Fiessel disgorged $147,486.60 plus $7,634 in interest and paid Cdn.$144,445 to the BCSC, while Doherty disgorged $26,125.40 with no penalty due to financial hardship. Both consented to permanent injunctions, officer/director bars, and penny stock prohibitions without admitting or denying the allegations.

narrative

Mervin Fiessel and Robert Doherty, residents of British Columbia, orchestrated a cross-border securities fraud scheme targeting Greyfield Capital, Inc., a pink sheet-traded Nevada company, by illegally seizing control through unauthorized corporate actions and reincorporating it in Oregon without shareholder consent. They falsely claimed Greyfield had acquired the Autorama car dealership, fabricated management credentials, and issued hundreds of millions of unauthorized shares to inflate the company’s value, then sold tens of millions of shares at artificially high prices. On July 27, 2005, the SEC suspended trading in Greyfield stock due to doubts about its reorganization, management legitimacy, and business claims. Fiessel agreed to disgorge $147,486.60 in illicit gains plus $7,634 in prejudgment interest and paid an additional Cdn.$144,445 penalty to the BCSC, while Doherty disgorged $26,125.40 with no penalty imposed due to his sworn financial hardship declaration. Both consented to permanent injunctions barring future violations of Sections 10(b), 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of federal securities laws, along with officer/director and penny stock trading bans, without admitting or denying the allegations. The coordinated enforcement action by the SEC and BCSC underscored the growing necessity of international cooperation to combat microcap fraud and prevent perpetrators from exploiting jurisdictional borders. The SEC and BCSC credited the Jersey Financial Services Commission for its assistance in the investigation, and the case reinforced investor warnings about the risks of investing in opaque microcap stocks.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: unregistered-securities (100%)
Court: District of Columbia
Outcome: settled · 2005-07-27
Settlement: $144,445
Disgorgement: $147,487

Classified unregistered-securities(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D/S-1· recall 41% / precision 30%. detection rule →

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 5

$147K $147,486 $100K–$1M
$144K $144,445 $100K–$1M
$26K $26,125 $10K–$100K
$8K $7,634 <$10K
$2K $1,626 <$10K

Entities 3

person greyfield promoters
agency sec and british columbia securities commission
agency Securities and Exchange Commission

Triples 17

Sec and British Columbia Securities Commission Charge Two Canadians With Greyfield Stock Manipulation Case
Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled cases British Columbia residents Mervin Fiessel, 61, and Robert Doherty, 42
Greyfield Promoters misappropriated Greyfield and its trading symbol GRYF
Greyfield Promoters reincorporated the company in Oregon
Greyfield Promoters claimed Greyfield (Oregon) had acquired the Autorama
Original shareholders of Greyfield complained the identity of their company had been stolen
Greyfield Promoters improperly issued hundreds of millions of new shares of Greyfield
Greyfield Promoters conditioned the market with false and misleading publicity about Greyfield, its management and the Autorama
Fiessel and others began selling tens of millions of Greyfield shares
The Commission issued an Order suspending trading in Greyfield common stock for ten days
Fiessel and Doherty consented to injunctions against future violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933
Fiessel consented to liability for disgorgement of $147,486.60 plus prejudgment interest of $7,634
Doherty consented to liability for disgorgement of $26,125.40
Doherty waived his obligation to pay prejudgment interest of $1,626.32
Fiessel agreed to pay an additional monetary sanction of Cdn.$144,445 to the BCSC
The BCSC imposed additional non-monetary sanctions on the two British Columbia residents
The Commission wishes to thank the Jersey Financial Services Commission and the BCSC for their assistance in this ongoing investigation

View original SEC press releasesec.gov

Extracted body text (4,419c)

SEC and British Columbia Securities Commission Charge Two Canadians With Greyfield Stock Manipulation Case Involves Illegal Takeover and Manipulation of Pink Sheet Company FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2006-187 Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2006 - The Securities and Exchange Commission and the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) today simultaneously announced settled cases against British Columbia residents Mervin Fiessel, 61, and Robert Doherty, 42, in a market manipulation scheme involving a Nevada company, Greyfield Capital, Inc., and a British Columbia car dealership called the Autorama that was falsely touted as "quickly becoming the largest dealership in [Western] Canada." Greyfield traded under the symbol GRYF on the U.S. over-the-counter market and was quoted on the pink sheets. Linda Thomsen, Director of the SEC's Enforcement Division, said, "Working in coordination with authorities in British Columbia and Canada, the SEC will do its utmost to shut down cross-border manipulations through trading suspensions and decisive, coordinated action." Ethiopis Tafara, the Director of the Commission's Office of International Affairs, said, "We are extremely pleased that the SEC and the BCSC were able to simultaneously file complementary actions in this matter. The ability of the SEC and BCSC to work closely and cooperatively together reinforces our mutual commitment to ensuring that borders cannot be used by perpetrators of securities fraud to escape detection and prosecution. The resolution of this matter illustrates the value, indeed the growing necessity, of international enforcement assistance in today's global marketplace." The complaint alleges the following. Fiessel, Doherty and others (either collectively or individually, the Greyfield Promoters) misappropriated Greyfield and its trading symbol GRYF through a series of unauthorized corporate actions, reincorporated the company in Oregon, and claimed that Greyfield (Oregon) had acquired the Autorama. As a result, the original shareholders of Greyfield complained that the identity of their company had been stolen. The Greyfield Promoters then improperly issued hundreds of millions of new shares of Greyfield and conditioned the market with false and misleading publicity about Greyfield, its management and the Autorama. Almost immediately thereafter, Fiessel and others began selling tens of millions of Greyfield shares. On July 27, 2005, the Commission issued an Order suspending trading in Greyfield common stock for ten days because of, among other things, questions as to whether the company was validly reorganized as an Oregon company, the identity of its officers and directors, and whether there had been inaccurate statements about what line of business it was in. See Release No. 34-52127 (July 27, 2005). Without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint, Fiessel and Doherty consented to injunctions against future violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933; officer and director bars; and penny stock bars. Fiessel also consented to liability for disgorgement of $147,486.60 plus prejudgment interest of $7,634. Doherty consented to liability for disgorgement of $26,125.40. Doherty's obligation to pay prejudgment interest of $1,626.32 was waived and no penalty was imposed based on his sworn Statement of Financial Condition. The BCSC simultaneously announced settlements with Fiessel and Doherty pursuant to which Fiessel also agreed to pay an additional monetary sanction of Cdn.$144,445 to the BCSC. See www.bcsc.bc.ca/news.aspx. The BCSC did not impose a monetary sanction on Doherty based on his sworn Statement of Financial Condition. The BCSC imposed additional non-monetary sanctions on the two British Columbia residents. The Commission wishes to thank the Jersey Financial Services Commission and the BCSC for their assistance in this ongoing investigation. The Commission has published guidance for investors concerning investments in microcap stocks. See: http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/microcapstock.htm. # # # For further information, contact: C. Joshua Felker Assistant Director SEC Division of Enforcement (202) 551-4960 Additional materials: Litigation Release 19902; Complaint http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2006/2006-187.htm Home | Previous Page Modified: 11/08/2006

OCR text (4,419c · plain-text · 99% conf)