Federal regulators seek $1.8 million from Revolutions Medical CEO in fraud case
By David Wren dwren@postandcourier.com Jan 16, 2018
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Revolutions Medical Corp. (copy) (copy)
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Print
Save
Subscribe for $2.50 / week
Prosecutors want the head of Charleston-based Revolutions Medical Corp. to pay back more than $1.8 million he made after the company issued misleading press releases that inflated the value of stock sold to investors.
Rondald Wheet, CEO of Revolutions Medical, also would receive a lifetime ban from being an officer or director of a publicly traded company under penalties recommended in court documents by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wheet was found liable last month of violating federal securities laws during a civil trial in Atlanta. A judge will rule on the SEC's recommendations at a later date.
The SEC also wants Wheet to pay $421,722 in interest on the money regulators say he improperly received after press releases made it appear the company's main product — a retractable syringe called RevVac — was in the final stages of development. The syringe, in fact, had repeatedly failed in testing and was prohibited from being marketed or sold.
Revolutions Medical issued the press releases between Aug. 24, 2010 and July 8, 2011 — a period when Wheet and the company sold $1.8 million worth of stock on the open market and in private purchase agreements, the SEC said.
Regulators are also asking a judge to impose "substantial" civil penalties against Wheet for "fraud and deceit that resulted in substantial losses to investors." The SEC said in court documents that Wheet has "shown not the slightest remorse" for his conduct.
Sign up for our real estate newsletter!
Get the best of the Post and Courier's Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday.
Email
Sign Up!
Privacy
Last month's trial was the second time the SEC brought civil charges against Wheet. An initial trial in 2015 ended with jurors unable to reach a verdict.
The most recent civil trial came less than eight months after Wheet was found not guilty in a criminal trial in Charleston involving similar charges. Bryon Scott Key, the former head of investor relations at Revolutions Medical, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in the criminal case and was sentenced in November to five years of probation.
Reach David Wren at 843-937-5550 or on Twitter at @David_Wren_
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Print
Save
Tags
Revolutions Medical Corp. Securities And Exchange Commission Federal Court Civil Trial Fraud
