2025-06-13 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,589 chars

SEC v. Sergio Damian Lopez, No. LR-26325, Central District of California (June 13, 2025) — Press Release

raw: Sergio Damian Lopez

Sergio Damian Lopez, No. 2:25-cv-04795-CAS (June 13, 2025)

Caption
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sergio Damian Lopez
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summary

The SEC obtained a final judgment against Canadian resident Sergio Damian Lopez for his role in a fraudulent scheme to promote securities through undisclosed compensation.

paragraph

Sergio Damian Lopez was charged with violating the Securities Act and Exchange Act for his involvement in promoting Hightimes Holding Corp. and Cloudastructure, Inc. securities. He was ordered to pay $200,000 in disgorgement, $8,124.59 in prejudgment interest, and a $115,231 penalty. The judgment also imposes a three-year ban on Lopez serving as an officer or director of a public company.

narrative

The SEC obtained a final judgment against Canadian resident Sergio Damian Lopez for his role in a scheme to fraudulently promote the securities of Hightimes Holding Corp. and Cloudastructure, Inc. Lopez utilized sham consulting agreements to receive payments from these companies and subsequently funneled funds to his associate, William Mikula, to facilitate undisclosed paid promotions. This arrangement gave investors the false impression that Mikula's newsletter recommendations were objective. This enforcement action follows previous SEC actions against Mikula and the companies involved. To resolve the charges, Lopez consented to a final judgment that includes $200,000 in disgorgement, $8,124.59 in interest, and a $115,231 penalty. Additionally, he is permanently enjoined from future securities law violations and prohibited from serving as a public company officer or director for three years.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
pump-and-dump (100%)
Court
Central District of California
Case No.
2:25-cv-04795-CAS
Outcome
settled
Disgorgement
$200,000
Civil penalty
$115,231
Entity
Sergio Damian Lopez
Classified pump-and-dump(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms S-8/S-1/424B/8-K· recall 69% / precision 12%. detection rule →
Statutes
Sections 17(a) and 17(b) of the Securities ActSections 17(a) and 17(b) of the Securities ActRule 10b-5
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionSergio Damian Lopez
Keywords
lopezsecuritiessergio damiandamian lopezsecsecurities exchangeexchange commissioncloudastructuresergiodamianexchangefinalagainstschemehightimes

Exhibits & Attached Documents (2)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 3
  • $200K $200,000 $100K–$1M
  • $115K $115,231 $100K–$1M
  • $8K $8,124 <$10K
Entities 5
  • person final judgment
  • company hightimes holding corp. and cloudastructure, inc.
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • person sergio damian lopez
  • person william mikula
Triples 11
  • Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final judgment against Sergio Damian Lopez
  • Sergio Damian Lopez participated in fraudulent scheme to promote securities offered pursuant to Regulation a
  • William Mikula authored promotional articles through his newsletter, Palm Beach Venture
  • Hightimes Holding Corp. and Cloudastructure, Inc. paid Lopez’s entities for promotion pursuant to sham consulting agreements
  • Lopez funneled portion of funds to William Mikula
  • Securities And Exchange Commission filed complaint against William Mikula in September 2022
  • Securities And Exchange Commission filed settled actions against Hightimes, Adam Levin, Cloudastructure, and Rick Bentley in September 2023
  • Sergio Damian Lopez consented to entry of final judgment permanently enjoining him from violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Sections 17(a) and 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933
  • Final Judgment orders Sergio Damian Lopez to pay disgorgement of $200,000 and prejudgment interest of $8,124.59
  • Final Judgment imposes penalty of $115,231 on Sergio Damian Lopez
  • Final Judgment prohibits Sergio Damian Lopez from serving as an officer and director of a public company for three years
PDF (from attached: complaint)
this complaint against Defendant Sergio Damian Lopez (“Lopez”) and alleges: · Source
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,589c) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26325 / June 13, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sergio Damian Lopez, No. 2:25-cv-04795-CAS-AJR (C.D. Cal. filed May 28, 2025) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Canadian Resident for Involvement in Scheme to Fraudulently Promote Securities On June 12, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against Sergio Damian Lopez, a Canadian resident, for charges related to his involvement in a fraudulent scheme to promote securities offered pursuant to Regulation A, which, if certain conditions are met, provides an exemption to the Securities Act's registration provisions. According to the SEC’s complaint, Lopez participated in the fraudulent promotions of the securities of Hightimes Holding Corp. and Cloudastructure, Inc. The Complaint alleges that Lopez’s associate, William Mikula, authored promotional articles through his newsletter, Palm Beach Venture, that falsely represented that neither the newsletter nor the authors received any compensation for their recommendations. As alleged, Hightimes and Cloudastructure actually paid Lopez’s entities for the promotion pursuant to sham consulting agreements, and Lopez funneled a portion of these funds to Mikula. These actions gave investors the misleading impression that the recommendations were objective. This is the third set of actions that the SEC has filed in connection with this scheme. In September 2022, the SEC filed a complaint against Mikula, alleging that he promoted securities, including for Hightimes and Cloudastructure, without disclosing his compensation. In September 2023, the SEC filed settled actions against Hightimes, its Chairman of the Board, Adam Levin, Cloudastructure, and Cloudastructure’s CEO, Rick Bentley, for their involvement in the scheme. Lopez, without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Sections 17(a) and 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933. The final judgment also enjoins him from certain promotional activities, orders him to pay disgorgement of $200,000 and prejudgment interest of $8,124.59, a penalty of $115,231, and prohibits him from serving as an officer and director of a public company for three years. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Sarah Nilson, with assistance from Charles Canter and Dora Zaldivar, and supervised by Finola Manvelian, all of the Los Angeles Regional Office.
OCR text (2,589c · html-text · 99% conf) 
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26325 / June 13, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Sergio Damian Lopez, No. 2:25-cv-04795-CAS-AJR (C.D. Cal. filed May 28, 2025) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Canadian Resident for Involvement in Scheme to Fraudulently Promote Securities On June 12, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained a final judgment against Sergio Damian Lopez, a Canadian resident, for charges related to his involvement in a fraudulent scheme to promote securities offered pursuant to Regulation A, which, if certain conditions are met, provides an exemption to the Securities Act's registration provisions. According to the SEC’s complaint, Lopez participated in the fraudulent promotions of the securities of Hightimes Holding Corp. and Cloudastructure, Inc. The Complaint alleges that Lopez’s associate, William Mikula, authored promotional articles through his newsletter, Palm Beach Venture, that falsely represented that neither the newsletter nor the authors received any compensation for their recommendations. As alleged, Hightimes and Cloudastructure actually paid Lopez’s entities for the promotion pursuant to sham consulting agreements, and Lopez funneled a portion of these funds to Mikula. These actions gave investors the misleading impression that the recommendations were objective. This is the third set of actions that the SEC has filed in connection with this scheme. In September 2022, the SEC filed a complaint against Mikula, alleging that he promoted securities, including for Hightimes and Cloudastructure, without disclosing his compensation. In September 2023, the SEC filed settled actions against Hightimes, its Chairman of the Board, Adam Levin, Cloudastructure, and Cloudastructure’s CEO, Rick Bentley, for their involvement in the scheme. Lopez, without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC’s complaint, consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Sections 17(a) and 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933. The final judgment also enjoins him from certain promotional activities, orders him to pay disgorgement of $200,000 and prejudgment interest of $8,124.59, a penalty of $115,231, and prohibits him from serving as an officer and director of a public company for three years. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Sarah Nilson, with assistance from Charles Canter and Dora Zaldivar, and supervised by Finola Manvelian, all of the Los Angeles Regional Office.

Related documents (2)