Was told one link was not working . Here is Mitchell Adams Stockwatch item...
SEC target Adam pleads guilty
2015-07-15 18:38 MT - Street Wire
Also Street Wire (U-*SEC) U S Securities and Exchange Commission
Also Street Wire (U-HBPE) HBP Energy Corp
by Mike Caswell
Mitchell Adam, the Vancouver man arrested in the United States for planning the manipulation of a pink sheets listing, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities and mail fraud. Prosecutors in New Jersey claimed that he and others set up an elaborate pump-and-dump of a purported oil company, HBP Energy Corp. The plan fell apart after an associate began co-operating with authorities. Mr. Adam, 47, entered the guilty plea in an appearance before U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares on Tuesday, July 14.
The plea comes nearly two months after authorities arrested Mr. Adam at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport on sealed criminal charges. Prosecutors alleged that he and others, including fellow Canadian Kenneth David Stevenson, planned to manipulate HBP with a series of wash trades and cold-calls. There is no indication what Mr. Adam's sentence could be, but Mr. Stevenson previously pleaded guilty to the same charge and received one year of probation.
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The charges against the men are best detailed in a parallel civil complaint the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed on May 26, 2015. The complaint described how Mr. Adam and Mr. Stevenson became involved in the scheme after they met with a well-known New York shell lawyer named Adam Gottbetter. At the time of the meeting, Mr. Gottbetter had run two prior manipulations and was looking to arrange a third.
The men came up with a plan to drive up the price of HBP Energy by using matched trades, spam and offshore call centres, the complaint stated. Traders that Mr. Gottbetter knew would carry out most of the market work, while Mr. Adam and Mr. Stevenson would set up the call centres and transmit the promotional material. Mr. Gottbetter's reaction to meeting the Canadian pair, as described by the SEC, was a positive one. In a phone conversation with a trader (who was secretly co-operating with law enforcement) he said that he had been approached by a "big hitter" and that the "big hitter" was looking for someone to "run the market."
Mr. Adam and Mr. Stevenson then met with the trader at a New York hotel room to work out the details. At that meeting, the trader explained to them that he would use 32 accounts held by foreign nominees to "walk up" the stock. The idea was to create an "attractive but fake" stock chart, the SEC claimed. Once the stock started rising, Mr. Gottbetter, Mr. Adam and Mr. Stevenson would sell their shares and divide the proceeds amongst themselves using predetermined percentages.
Unfortunately for Mr. Adam and Mr. Stevenson, the trader had been working with law enforcement agents since July, 2012. He ultimately provided a substantial amount of evidence to the government, according to Mr. Adam's criminal complaint. Authorities arrested Mr. Stevenson and Mr. Gottbetter in 2013 and 2014, and all three have now pleaded guilty. Mr. Gottbetter, who faced additional charges, received 18 months in jail for the planned HBP manipulation as well as the manipulations of two other companies.
Back home, Mr. Adam has held roles with dozens of TSX Venture Exchange companies. These included a period as president of Bonterra Resources Inc. and as president of Weststar Resources Corp. He was also the president of Oxford Resources Inc. until his arrest.
Mr. Adam is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 27, 2015.
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