Old news but not posted on legal stuff. Some more justice.
Two Former Teletek Officers Found Guilty in Stock Run-Up Case
By Cesca Antonelli
Las Vegas, Nevada, Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Two former Teletek
Inc. and United Payphone Services Inc. officers were found guilty
of racketeering and money laundering related to an alleged scam
to run-up stocks by bribing brokers and stock promoters.
Former Teletek President Keith Shwayder and Kevin Orton, a
former outside accountant for Teletek and United, were also
convicted of conspiracy and both wire and securities fraud after
a two-month jury trial in U.S. District Court in Nevada, the U.S.
Attorney's Office there said.
A federal grand jury in November 1996 indicted 30 people and
claimed officers of Teletek, which provides long-distance phone
services, illegally issued millions of shares as bribes and
shipped cash to brokers by overnight mail. Similar efforts
promoted the stocks of United Payphone and Enrotek Corp., a
Toronto-based property investment firm, prosecutors said at the
time. Other defendants were added later.
``We are very pleased the jury understood the seriousness of
the offenses and found that this officer and director, and the
accountant, were responsible for their roles in this nationwide
conspiracy,' said Bruce Bettigole, the lead prosecutor in the
case.
The jury demanded Orton forfeit $200,000 in gains from the
alleged fraud. Shwayder will forfeit $414,334, prosecutors said.
Thirty-five people -- including former Teletek CEO Michael
Swan and wife Claudia Higgins, who was an officer of United --
have pleaded guilty to related felony charges, prosecutors said
today. Two of them were convicted in May 1998.
Bettigole declined to comment on whether the probe is
continuing or if any further charges would be filed.
The overall conspiracy stretched from November 1991 until at
least December 1995, according to the government. It included
bribing brokers in Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado, Texas, New
York, New Jersey, Florida, Illinois and Oklahoma.
quote.bloomberg.com |
