2013-08-05 sec-litreleases litigation_release 65 KB 2,407 chars

SEC v. John G. Rizzo, No. LR-22770, Southern District of California (Aug. 5, 2013) — Press Release

raw: John G. Rizzo

John G. Rizzo, No. LR-22770 (Aug. 5, 2013)

Caption
SEC v. John G. Rizzo
summary

John G. Rizzo, former CEO of iTrackr Systems Inc., orchestrated an international boiler room scheme, raising $2.5 million from UK investors, and faces SEC charges and a parallel criminal case.

paragraph

John G. Rizzo, former CEO of iTrackr Systems Inc., allegedly orchestrated an international boiler room scheme that raised approximately $2.5 million from UK investors. Rizzo funneled the money to his Belize bank account, using it to pay personal expenses and commissions to boiler room operators, who received up to 80% of the funds raised. The SEC charged Rizzo with violating multiple securities laws, including Sections 17(a) and 10(b), and Rule 10b-5.

narrative

John G. Rizzo, former CEO of iTrackr Systems Inc., allegedly orchestrated an international boiler room scheme that raised approximately $2.5 million from UK investors. Rizzo used offshore boiler rooms to solicit foreign investors, attempting to evade registration requirements under U.S. securities laws. He funneled the money to his Belize bank account, using it to pay personal expenses and commissions to boiler room operators, who received up to 80% of the funds raised. The SEC charged Rizzo with violating multiple securities laws, including Sections 17(a) and 10(b), and Rule 10b-5. The SEC seeks disgorgement, financial penalties, and a permanent injunction against Rizzo, as well as officer-and-director and penny stock bars. A parallel criminal case was filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.

Enriched metadata

Scheme
boiler-room (100%)
Court
Southern District of California
Victim loss
$2,500,000
Entity
John G. Rizzo
Classified boiler-room(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 50% / precision 4%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionJohn G. Rizzo
Keywords
rizzoboiler roomjohn rizzosecurities exchangeboilerinvestorssecuritiesexchange commissionpenny stockroom operatorsroomjohnexchangecommissionaugust

Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 1
  • $2.50M $2.5 million $1M–$10M
Entities 9
  • person John G. Rizzo ×2
  • scheme_term an international boiler room scheme
  • location Belize
  • organization Itrackr Systems Inc.
  • company john g. rizzo, former ceo of itrackr systems inc.
  • person marc blau
  • person sara kalin
  • agency Securities and Exchange Commission
  • location United Kingdom
Triples 2
  • John G. Rizzo orchestrated an international boiler room scheme
  • SEC charged John G. Rizzo, former CEO of iTrackr Systems Inc.
Text layers
Extracted body text (2,407c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 22770 / August 5, 2013 Securities and Exchange Commission v. John G. Rizzo, Civil Action No. 13 CV 1801 MMA (BLM) (S.D. Cal. August 2, 2013) SEC Charges Penny Stock CEO in International Boiler Room Scheme The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against a penny stock company CEO in Boca Raton, Fla., for orchestrating an international boiler room scheme. The SEC alleges that John G. Rizzo, the former CEO of iTrackr Systems Inc., used offshore boiler rooms to solicit foreign investors as he attempted to evade registration requirements under the U.S. securities laws. The boiler rooms raised approximately $2.5 million from investors living in the United Kingdom. Unbeknownst to investors, Rizzo funneled the money raised to his bank account in Belize. After paying commissions to the boiler room operators, he used investor money to pay his personal expenses. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced criminal charges against Rizzo on August 2, 2013. According to the SEC's complaint filed August 2, 2013 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Rizzo used U.S.-based escrow agents and bank accounts to make iTrackr investments appear more legitimate to investors. After investors wired funds to one of the U.S. bank accounts, Rizzo arranged for the money to be transferred to his Belize account in an effort to conceal his undisclosed use of investor funds to pay boiler room operators and his own expenses. The SEC's complaint alleges that Rizzo agreed to pay the boiler room operators a commission of up to 80 percent of the amount they raised from investors. The arrangement was never disclosed to iTrackr investors. The SEC's complaint alleges that Rizzo violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. The complaint seeks disgorgement with prejudgment interest, financial penalties, officer-and-director and penny stock bars, and a permanent injunction against Rizzo. The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Sara Kalin and Marc Blau of the Los Angeles Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. SEC Complaint
OCR text (2,407c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 22770 / August 5, 2013 Securities and Exchange Commission v. John G. Rizzo, Civil Action No. 13 CV 1801 MMA (BLM) (S.D. Cal. August 2, 2013) SEC Charges Penny Stock CEO in International Boiler Room Scheme The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against a penny stock company CEO in Boca Raton, Fla., for orchestrating an international boiler room scheme. The SEC alleges that John G. Rizzo, the former CEO of iTrackr Systems Inc., used offshore boiler rooms to solicit foreign investors as he attempted to evade registration requirements under the U.S. securities laws. The boiler rooms raised approximately $2.5 million from investors living in the United Kingdom. Unbeknownst to investors, Rizzo funneled the money raised to his bank account in Belize. After paying commissions to the boiler room operators, he used investor money to pay his personal expenses. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California announced criminal charges against Rizzo on August 2, 2013. According to the SEC's complaint filed August 2, 2013 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, Rizzo used U.S.-based escrow agents and bank accounts to make iTrackr investments appear more legitimate to investors. After investors wired funds to one of the U.S. bank accounts, Rizzo arranged for the money to be transferred to his Belize account in an effort to conceal his undisclosed use of investor funds to pay boiler room operators and his own expenses. The SEC's complaint alleges that Rizzo agreed to pay the boiler room operators a commission of up to 80 percent of the amount they raised from investors. The arrangement was never disclosed to iTrackr investors. The SEC's complaint alleges that Rizzo violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5. The complaint seeks disgorgement with prejudgment interest, financial penalties, officer-and-director and penny stock bars, and a permanent injunction against Rizzo. The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Sara Kalin and Marc Blau of the Los Angeles Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. SEC Complaint