DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Florida
companies and their chief executives in relation to issuing press
releases touting their companies while the CEOs sold off company
stock.
The SEC charged Quri Resources Inc. (QURS) and CEO Jaime
Santiago Gomez as well as Atlantis Technology Group (ATNP) and CEO
Christopher Dubeau. The regulator said Quri issued misleading press
releases for several months in 2009 that falsely claimed it was
about to begin drilling on a mining project in Ecuador with a
probable gold reserve in excess of $1 billion. During the period,
Gomez--who reviewed and approved the releases--made about $17,500
from selling company stock, the SEC said.
Meanwhile, the agency said Atlantis put out releases over an
eight-month period touting "phony business relationships" with
television networks to sell video and telecommunications services.
Dubeau drafted, reviewed and approved the releases and sold about
$240,000 worth of stock, as well as receiving $77,000 of the
proceeds from an associate's sale of stock, the regulator said.
"Both companies misled investors with exaggerated claims while
their respective senior executives illegally dumped shares into the
market," said Eric I. Bustillo, director of the SEC's Miami
office.
The SEC is seeking injunctions against further violations,
return of the ill-gotten gains, with interest, and financial
penalties against the two CEOs. The SEC said it also is seeking "an
officer and director bar against Dubeau and penny-stock bars
against Gomez and Dubeau."
Spokesmen for the companies weren't immediately available for
comment.
Quri's stock stands at 5 cents--it briefly reached $20 in early
2009--while Atlantis trades for less than a penny, the price it had
been at since at least August 2009, according to FactSet.
-By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855;
nathan.becker@dowjones.com