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Two convicted in stock-fraud conspiracy

by: DAVID HARPER World Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
5/4/2010 9:26:17 AM
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20100504_14_A5_TwoTul52099

Two Tulsa men are facing 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty Monday in an estimated $44 million stock-fraud conspiracy.

George David Gordon, 48, and Richard "Rick" Clark, 62, will be sentenced Aug. 25. They had been free on bond, but U.S. District Judge James Payne ordered them jailed after the verdict was read.

U.S. Department of Justice attorney Andrew Warren said the conspiracy is believed to have generated about $44 million and that each man is facing 30 years to life in prison.

Gordon and Clark are among five men who were indicted in the case Jan. 15, 2009. They were accused of plotting from 2004 through 2006 to "pump up" the stock of three companies and then dump the stocks quickly at the expense of investors.

The two also were convicted of related crimes such as wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, although Clark was found not guilty of several counts, as well.

Gordon also was found guilty of obstructing justice and making a false statement in a matter within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The jury deliberated all day Friday and for about two hours Monday.

During closing arguments, prosecutors said Gordon used his role as an attorney to develop and implement a "master plan" to manipulate stocks, with Clark as his "right-hand man."

Warren told the jury that the defendants "lied, cheated and stole" millions of dollars from an unsuspecting public.

He alleged that they lied to obtain stocks through fabricated and forged documents and then lied about their ownership of the shares.

Warren claimed that the defendants pumped up the stock price through meticulously coordinated trading and misleading promotions to create an artificial market for the stocks. The men then stole from investors by dumping the stock on the market and trying to conceal where the money went, he alleged.

Defense lawyers attacked the credibility of the prosecution's witnesses during the three-week trial. They also alleged that any criminal conduct was the work of people who had already pleaded guilty, who have been indicted but not yet tried or who avoided criminal charges altogether by virtue of their cooperation with prosecutors.

Gordon's attorney, Thomas Gorman, told the jury that the government's case was based on testimony from admitted criminals and had other holes in the form of absent documents and missing witnesses.

Clark's lawyer, Allen Smallwood, said the case against his client was entirely reliant on what he claimed was the false testimony of Mark Byron Lindberg of Coppell, Texas.

Lindberg pleaded guilty in July 2008 to conspiring to commit wire and securities fraud and is awaiting sentencing. His guilty plea led to the January 2009 indictments of the other five defendants. Gorman said Lindberg hopes to receive a "get out of jail free" card for his cooperation.

A third defendant in the indictment, Dean Sheptycki, 43, was last seen in the Bahamas, while a fourth, Joshua Wayne Lankford, 36, of the Dallas area, is a fugitive. The fifth defendant, James Reskin, 51, of Louisville, Ky., pleaded guilty March 25. Lindberg and Reskin also are set to be sentenced in late August.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=14&articleid=20100504_14_A5_TwoTul52099