scion
16 years ago
COURT AWARDS SEC OVER $642,000 FROM DEFENDANTS IN STOCK MANIPULATION SCHEME
Litigation Release No. 20869 / January 27, 2009
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jeffery Steven Stone, et al., Case No. 06-CIV-6258 (HB) (S.D.N.Y. filed Aug. 17, 2006)
COURT AWARDS SEC OVER $642,000 FROM DEFENDANTS IN STOCK MANIPULATION SCHEME
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on January 13, 2009, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against former Connecticut resident Janette Diller Stone (aka Janette Dillerstone) in which it ordered her to pay a total of $462,247.21 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a $60,000 penalty for her alleged involvement in a 2005 microcap market manipulation scheme. Diller Stone earlier agreed to a partial settlement of the Commission's charges in which, without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, she consented to imposition of an injunction permanently enjoining her from violating the antifraud, registration, and other provisions of the federal securities laws.
This judgment follows the Court's entry of a default judgment on November 25, 2008 against Diller Stone's husband, Jeffery Steven Stone, a convicted felon, in which the Court found that Stone had violated the antifraud, registration, and other provisions of the federal securities laws. The Court permanently enjoined Stone from further securities law violations and ordered him to pay $462,247.21 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a $120,000 penalty. Stone and Diller Stone were ordered to pay the disgorgement and prejudgment interest together with two entities they controlled, Pedracar, Inc. and Crescent Fund, LLC, against which default judgments were entered in March 2007.
The Commission's complaint alleges that Stone and Diller Stone, through Pedracar and Crescent Fund, acquired massive amounts of the stock of WebSky, Inc., a San Francisco-based penny stock company, under false pretenses. They then hired stock promoters to hype the stock in a spam email campaign that falsely portrayed WebSky -- a start-up company with virtually no revenues or profits -- as having a successful joint venture in Argentina that would result in over $40 million in annual revenues. After artificially inflating WebSky's stock price, Stone and Diller Stone dumped their shares into the unsuspecting market at a profit. Combined with proceeds from other stock sales during the scheme, Stone and Diller grossed more than $1 million in proceeds.
The Commission previously reached a settlement with WebSky and its CEO, Douglas Haffer, of Oakland, California, in which, without admitting or denying the Commission's allegations, they agreed to disgorge $35,000 received in a subsequent unregistered transaction with Stone and Diller Stone. Haffer also paid a $25,000 civil penalty. See Litigation Release No. 19805.
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2009/lr20869.htm
The Original dpb5!
18 years ago
Well, to me, Haffer is only playing "rehash the PR's and hope for the best!"
Clearly, there is NOTHING NEW here....
Haffer only hoping to respark new interest using already played PR's under a "new" symbol.
It's really quite sad, when you think about it.
Don't look for any gains on this puppy ever, imho.
harr449
18 years ago
The Original dpb5, nice find.
Always wondered what happened to the Argentina deal. Don't remember Haffer ever telling investors it was no longer viable.
"Stone and Diller also engineered a spam email campaign that falsely portrayed WebSky - a start-up Internet company with virtually no revenues or profits - as having a successful joint venture in Argentina that would result in over $40 million in annual revenues. In reality, WebSky's CEO had forbidden them from sending the spam email and informed them that WebSky's Argentina deal was no longer viable".
And Haffer only gets slap on wrist.
"Subject to court approval, WebSky and Haffer have agreed to settle the action, without admitting or denying the allegations, by disgorging the $35,000 received in the sale and consenting to a permanent injunction against future violations of the registration provisions of the federal securities laws. Haffer also has agreed to pay a $25,000 civil penalty".
Why does SEC or whomever allow these scam artists to own any stock? Should be banned for life. Wish someone would start civil suit for us who lost money during this scam.
harr449
18 years ago
WebSky, Inc. Announces Additions to its United States Licensed Wireless Broadband Markets
NOTE: Found during unrelated search; FYI:
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- WebSky, Inc. announced today that it has entered into long-term leases for the commercial use of licensed Educational Broadband ("EBS") wireless frequency spectrum in four new small and underserved United States markets. The leases, between WebSky and Shekinah Network, covering Pierre, South Dakota, La Grande, Oregon, Del Rio, Texas and Las Vegas, New Mexico, are for 24 MHz of bandwidth in the 2.5 GHz band and have a term of up to thirty years. WebSky has previously announced plans to construct high speed wireless broadband or Wi-Max systems in its domestic and international markets and will add these four new locations to those plans.
In conjunction with these four new markets, WebSky has terminated its previous agreement with Shekinah for licensed frequency in Aspen and Vail, Colorado. The prior agreements between Shekinah and WebSky for Grand Rapids, Michigan, Key West, Florida, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Ukiah, California and Hilo, Hawaii remain in force. However, in connection with the four new leases, the parties have executed amendments to those pre-existing five agreements creating terms more favorable to WebSky.
"The addition of these four new markets further focuses WebSky on its model of securing licensed frequencies and developing wireless broadband projects in underserved domestic and international markets," noted Douglas Haffer, President of WebSky. "The combination of a larger total population in the four new markets and a lower penetration of pre-existing broadband services should allow WebSky to more effectively secure market share in these four locations," he added.
The population of the four new United States markets announced today is 25% greater than that of the two locations being terminated. The total population within WebSky's domestic licensed frequency footprint is over 1.85 million. Internationally, WebSky has previously announced agreements relating to licensed wireless broadband projects covering over 30 million people.
About WebSky, Inc.
WebSky, Inc. is a San Francisco-based company that currently controls licensed radio frequencies to be used to develop wireless broadband/Wi-Max systems in nine small and medium sized cities in the United States. In addition, the Company has previously announced agreements for the development of wireless broadband/Wi-Max systems in India, Argentina, and other emerging economies.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release, which are not historical, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, certain delays beyond the company's control with respect to market acceptance of new technologies and products, delays in testing and evaluation of products, and other risks associated with the industry in which the Company operates.
CONTACT: WebSky, Inc.
Douglas Haffer
415-296-5115
Eduardo Axtle
416-296-5124