Tiger Reef Inc (TGRR)

[StockdungU]

Below is a list of the companies Power Traders Press promoted and their symbols: Hydrocarb Energy Corp. (“HECC”), Intelligent Content Enterprises, Inc. (“ICEIF”), First Choice Healthcare Solutions Inc. (“FCHS”), Nemus Bioscience Inc. (“NMUS”), Algae Dynamics Corp. (“ADYNF”), Tiger Reef Inc. (“TGRR”) f/k/a/ Blue Water Bar & Grill, Inc. (“BWBG”), Grilled Cheese Truck Inc. (“GRLD”), Globe Net Wireless Corp. (“GNTW”), International Western Petroleum Inc. (“INWP”), NuGene International Inc (“NUGN”), PTC Therapeutics Inc. (“PTCT”), SPYR Inc. (“SPYR”), Staffing 360 Solutions, Inc. (“STAF”), and Renewable Energy & Power Inc. (“RBNW”).

http://theindustryspread.com/life-imitates-art-feds-bust-boiler-room-scheme/

Life Imitates Art as Feds Bust Boiler Room Scheme
JULY 14, 2017 BY MICHAEL VOLPE LEAVE A COMMENT
FILED UNDER: FEATURE ARTICLES
TAGGED: THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

In an example of life imitating art, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Department of Justice (USDOJ) busted a boiler room, which operated much like the one in the cult film.

The two agencies busted a boiler room named Power Trade Press, which used high-pressure tactics and lies to sell worthless penny stocks, mostly to seniors.

“The Securities and Exchange Commission today brought fraud charges against 13 individuals allegedly involved in two Long Island-based cold calling scams that bilked more than one hundred victims out of more than $10 million through high-pressure sales tactics and lies about penny stocks.

“The SEC alleges that the orchestrators of the scheme used boiler room-style call centers to make hundreds of thousands of cold calls that included the use of threatening and deceitful sales techniques to pressure victims – many of whom were senior citizens – into purchasing penny stocks.” The SEC stated. “For example, as part of one such scam, a boiler room salesman allegedly claimed that the Walt Disney Company was buying into a purported media and internet company and that would cause the penny stock’s price to increase substantially.”

In the 2000 film Boiler Room starring Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Affleck, Nia Long and Scott Caan, ruthless brokers from JT Marlin- also used high pressure tactics to sell penny stocks based on the same type of promises- one which are always imminent but never delivered.

In the movie, the firm’s principals, bring to public and then manipulate the market for worthless stock of companies whose principals are their friends and business partners.

This real-life scheme ran largely the same way: “Defendants engaged in a series of widespread and ongoing fraudulent schemes, beginning in at least March 2013, to manipulate the price and volume of at least four microcap securities that reaped at least $14 million in illicit proceeds while causing more than $10 million in losses to over one hundred victims.

“The fraud began with the acquisition of large blocks of microcap shares by the schemes’ orchestrators, including Stephanie Lee, Jeffrey Chartier, Lawrence D. Isen, Robert Gleckman, and Michael Watts (Orchestrator Defendants).” The SEC complaint stated. “The Orchestrator Defendants then hired two “boiler rooms”1 to fraudulently promote, or “pump,” the securities. Erik Matz and Ronald Hardy controlled one boiler room operating primarily under the name Power Traders Press.com, Inc. (Power Traders Press).”

Chartier is, according to the filing, the ringleader, making him the equivalent of the character played by Tom Everett Scott.

In the movie, JT Marlin, run by Scott’s character, effectively created a bogus market by taking companies public with only their firm trading the stock, a fact which was not disclosed to buyers.

“The Boiler Room Defendants fraudulently promoted these securities, soliciting victims to purchase them while failing to disclose that Elite Stock Research’s and Power Traders Press’s sole reason for aggressively soliciting investment in these securities was the boiler rooms’ plans to profit from the victims’ purchases. Indeed, Power Traders Press, Elite Stock Research, and the Boiler Room Defendants were compensated for promoting these securities, and they and/or their co-Defendants owned the stock they were promoting and intended to match the victims’ purchases with sales that continued to artificially inflate the price and produced fraudulent profits for themselves (referred to as ‘scalping’).”

There is one difference between this scheme and the movie. In the movie, the firm manipulated the price by only approving buy orders- except on a case by case basis-but in this scheme, the firm used a variety of new sophisticated scamming tools to manipulate the price.

“Power Traders Press’s and Elite Stock Research’s manipulative conduct included ‘marking-the-close’ and executing ‘matched’ and ‘wash’ trades that were designed to artificially raise the securities’ market prices and trading volumes, and give the false appearance of active trading.” The complaint stated.

Marking-the-close means flooding orders which won’t be filled right before the close. By jamming them as the markets are closing the price will be up at the end, or at least it should if the scheme is executed properly.

In trade washing, a trader tries to manipulate the stock price by being on both sides of a trade at a price the trader set.

In the filing, there were two active websites which the SEC identified with the scheme, mystreetresearch.com and trademasterspro.com, messages left to the number listed on the main page for each site were left unreturned.

While the SEC is pressing ahead with civil monetary charges, the US Department of Justice filed criminal charges against

Below is a list of the companies Power Traders Press promoted and their symbols: Hydrocarb Energy Corp. (“HECC”), Intelligent Content Enterprises, Inc. (“ICEIF”), First Choice Healthcare Solutions Inc. (“FCHS”), Nemus Bioscience Inc. (“NMUS”), Algae Dynamics Corp. (“ADYNF”), Tiger Reef Inc. (“TGRR”) f/k/a/ Blue Water Bar & Grill, Inc. (“BWBG”), Grilled Cheese Truck Inc. (“GRLD”), Globe Net Wireless Corp. (“GNTW”), International Western Petroleum Inc. (“INWP”), NuGene International Inc (“NUGN”), PTC Therapeutics Inc. (“PTCT”), SPYR Inc. (“SPYR”), Staffing 360 Solutions, Inc. (“STAF”), and Renewable Energy & Power Inc. (“RBNW”).