California Attorney Pleads Guilty in National Securities Fraud
A California attorney pleads guilty to a securities conspiracy charge in a pump-and-dump stock scam.
January 26, 2018 at 05:59 PM
2 minute read
Diego M. Radzinschi
California attorney Andrew H. Wilson pleaded guilty of conspiracy to unlawfully sell unregistered securities.
The Nevada City man was one of 10 people convicted in a conspiracy to sell shares of shell companies they secretly controlled, then inflating values in a pump-and-dump scam that involved participants from New York and Colorado.
Wilson pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Miami. He faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or double the proceeds of the offense, according to prosecutors. He is at least the second attorney charged in the scam.
Prosecutors say the scheme ran for about seven years and involved fraudulent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings listing nominee chief executive officers for shell companies.
Participants presented the CEO as the owner and listed shareholders while maintaining full control over blocks of shares. When the shares become unrestricted, or free trading, participants secretly sold them to shell buyers or got SEC approval to sell them publicly.
Wilson created fraudulent paperwork to support the scam, according to court documents.
In October, attorney James M. Schneider of Hillsboro Beach faced a parallel civil enforcement action by the SEC, accusing him and Wilson of participating in a fraud involving 22 blank-check companies “secretly bound for reverse mergers.” Blank-check companies “have no operations, making them attractive targets for those seeking reverse mergers for use in pump-and-dump schemes,” according to prosecutors.
New York stock promoter Yelena Furman and Colorado registered stock transfer agent John Ahearn are among those convicted, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
Sentencing for Ahearn and Wilson is set for June 8 before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams in Miami. Furman's sentencing is set for April 25 before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Holland & Knight Hires Former Davis Wright Tremaine Managing Partner in Seattle
3 minute read
RFK Jr. Will Keep Affiliations With Morgan & Morgan, Other Law Firms If Confirmed to DHHS
3 minute read
Plaintiffs Attorneys Awarded $113K on $1 Judgment in Noise Ordinance Dispute
4 minute read
Local Boutique Expands Significantly, Hiring Litigator Who Won $63M Verdict Against City of Miami Commissioner
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1The Use of Psychologists as Coaches/Trial Consultants
- 2Could This Be the Era of Client-Centricity?
- 3New York Mayor Adams Attacks Fed Prosecutor's Independence, Appeals to Trump
- 4Law Firm Sued for $35 Million Over Alleged Role in Acquisition Deal Collapse
- 5The Public-Private Dichotomy in State-Created Insurance Entities
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
