Day trader settles charges of false Lucent postings
Aug 8 2001 14:09PM
WASHINGTON, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Fred Moldofsky, a Texas day
trader accused of posting fake press releases on the Internet
claiming Lucent Technologies Inc. would not meet
earnings projections, agreed to settle fraud charges, federal
securities regulators said on Wednesday.
Moldofsky, a Canadian citizen, agreed to a final judgment
permanently enjoining him from future securities violations,
the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
He did not admit or deny the civil charges brought by the
SEC, and he will not have to pay a fine based on his sworn
inability to do so, the regulatory agency added.
In March of this year, Moldofsky was separately convicted
by a jury on criminal charges of securities fraud for the
Lucent postings and is scheduled to be sentenced in September,
the SEC said.
In a civil suit filed in New York, the SEC claimed that
Moldofsky had posted on a Yahoo! Finance message board at least
20 fraudulent press releases saying Lucent would not meet
analysts' earnings estimates for the quarter ended March 31,
2000.
The postings were made on March 22 and 23 of last year, the
agency added.
Moldofsky could not immediately be reached for comment.
Day traders like him rapidly move in and out of stocks,
hoping to capitalize off the slightest price swings.
AI
