FORMER CEO OF MOUNTAIN ENERGY SETTLES SEC CHARGES; CONSENTS TO FRAUD
INJUNCTION AND OFFICER AND DIRECTOR BAR
On Oct. 10, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas
entered a final judgment against Jack E. Uselton, the former CEO of
Mountain Energy, Inc., in a case filed by the Securities and Exchange
Commission in September 2001. Without admitting or denying the
allegations in the Commission's complaint, Uselton agreed to be
permanently restrained and enjoined from violating the antifraud
provisions of the federal securities laws. Uselton also agreed to be
barred from serving as an officer or director of any public company. In
settlement of its claims against Uselton, the Commission did not seek a
civil penalty based on Uselton's sworn financial statements.
According to the allegations in the Commission's complaint, Uselton
participated in an illegal "pump-and-dump" scheme in the securities of
Mountain Energy, Inc., a start-up energy company headquartered in
Houston, Texas. During the spring and summer of 1998, Uselton and
others published six fraudulent press releases that misrepresented the
ownership, nature and value of Mountain Energy's assets. These press
releases caused a dramatic increase in the price of Mountain Energy
stock and significant harm to investors when the market for the stock
collapsed. [SEC v. Donald John Christensen, II, Jack E. Uselton, Marc
R. Tow, George W. Guttman, Joseph M. Blumenthal, and Mountain Energy,
Inc., Civil Action No. HO1-3203 (S.D.Tex.)] (LR-17787) |
