CRIMM Porcari, do you feel the noose tightening
Tazbaz, Lockhart, and Becker Orchestrated a Scheme to Defraud Through Manipulative Trading in a Third Chinese Issuer, Kandi Technologies
- From approximately April 2009 through at least December 2010, Tazbaz, Lockhart, and Becker orchestrated a scheme to defraud investors of a third Chinese issuer, Kandi Technologies Group Inc., primarily through manipulative trading in Kandi’s stock.
- The manipulative trading was done with scienter. In addition, the manipulative trading was done for the purposes of creating a false or misleading appearance of an active market in the stock and inducing the stock’s sale or purchase by others.
- Kandi was listed on NASDAQ on March 18, 2008, and was trading as high as $6.82 per share in April 2008. However, by the end of 2008, Kandi’s stock price had dropped to less than $1.00.
- Tazbaz and Lockhart held large positions in Kandi’s securities that they sought to liquidate.
- In approximately September 2009, Tazbaz and Lockhart traveled to China to meet with Kandi’s CEO. In that meeting, Kandi’s CEO reached an oral agreement with Tazbaz and Lockhart as follows:
42 a.
| Kandi agreed to provide Tazbaz and Lockhart with 350,000 additional
| shares of Kandi;
| b.
| Despite Kandi’s prior oral agreement that the Kelley Group would cover
| |
