I AM SHOCKED TO SEE SUCH THINGS EXIST AS THIS:
Four men charged in Internet stock
promotion scheme
HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. (AP) - Four men were arrested by federal
authorities Wednesday on charges they used Internet Web sites and
e-mail newsletters to try to drive up the stock values of eight companies
through misleading information.
The four were charged in a two-count indictment in U.S. District Court in
Hauppauge with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to
commit money laundering.
U.S. Attorney Loretta E. Lynch said the case was striking because it
demonstrated how traditional boiler room securities fraud schemes had
moved to cyberspace.
The defendants were accused of reaching hundreds of thousands of
potential investors through the Internet.
``The defendants were able to manipulate stock supply and prices without
hiring large staffs of brokers, traders and cold callers to do their bidding,'
she said in a statement.
``This perverse abuse of the immense communicative power of the
Internet should act as a warning to all investors to be wary when relying on
the accuracy of Internet investment recommendations,' she added.
FBI Assistant Director Lewis Schiliro said the case should serve as a
warning to the public.
``Caution should be the password used by all before logging on to
cyberspace commerce,' he said.
Three of those who were arrested and charged had been barred from the
securities industry before.
The indictment said the defendants promoted the eight companies through
a Web site known as ``stockplayer.com' and through a related Internet
investment newsletter known as ``Stockplayer.'
The defendants allegedly misstated the financial results and business
prospects of the companies it profiled.
Prosecutors identified the four as Vincent Napolitano, 38, of Oyster Bay;
Irving Stitsky, 45, of Brookville; Jordan Shamah, 41, of Westbury; and
Robert Kessler, 40, of Syosset.
If convicted, the four could face prison terms of up to 20 years on the
most serious charge, along with millions of dollars in fines or restitution. |
