NEWS...
By Michael Barbaro
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 15, 2002; Page E05
The federal government will announce indictments today of more than 40 people, including the chief executive of a Rockville technology company and three major shareholders, who have been charged with conspiring to artificially inflate stock prices after a two-year sting operation, according to indictments and federal agents close to the investigation.
The indictments, some of which were unsealed yesterday, accuse stockbrokers, lawyers and business executives from around the country of manipulating the stock of at least five publicly held companies through deals with undercover federal agents. The operation, dubbed "Bermuda Short," ended Tuesday with dozens of arrests, according to the agents close to the investigation.
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Three other companies were named in the unsealed indictments: Medinah Minerals Inc., a Lake Elsinore, Calif., mining company, whose chief executive, Les Price, was indicted on charges of wire and securities fraud and money laundering; COI Solutions Inc., a Las Vegas health insurance provider, whose chief executive, Robert W. Wilder, was charged with wire, mail and securities fraud; and ThermoElastic Technologies Inc., a Toronto-based company that markets acrylic, whose three founders and president, Kenneth B. Liebscher, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire, mail and securities fraud. |
