"I certainly hope the people who purchased the NPHC stock are not harmed any more than they already have been, myself included."....
The harm is done. Place the blame where it belongs.
I expect to lose it all.
Blame rik.
Accordingly, Defendants' motions to dismiss allegations related to the distribution releases are DENIED.
The SeeThruEquity press release is a relatively simple application of these principles: it stated that SeeThruEquity issued a report that was "not paid for" and "unbiased" when Nutra Pharma had paid for the promotion and Deitsch had approved the report. Whether SeeThruEquity disclosed the arrangement or not, once Nutra Pharma made those statements in its press release, it had a duty to be accurate and complete. Accordingly, Defendants' motions as to the SeeThruEquity release are DENIED
.Deitsch's own statements about his motivations are insufficient to establish a lack of scienter. Issues going to Deitsch's mental state and reasons for making the trades are issues of fact that cannot be resolved on this motion to dismiss. At this stage, the Court finds that all of the facts alleged, collectively, give rise to a strong inference of scienter. See Tellabs, 551 U.S. at 322-23, 127 S. Ct. at 2509. Accordingly, the motion to dismiss Claims 2 and 3 is DENIED.
The Amended Complaint alleges that Deitsch certified that Nutra Pharma's periodic SEC reports were truthful when he knew that they contained untrue statements of material fact or omissions of material fact. (Am. Compl. ¶ 261.) The reports contain the same statements alleged to be misleading in the press releases. For the reasons already stated with respect to Claims 1 and 2 and the press releases, these portions of the motions to dismiss are DENIED.
While McManus is correct that the Amended Complaint does not explicitly allege he effected any transactions, it does plausibly allege that he induced or attempted to induce the purchase or sale of securities by calling investors, mailing invitations to promotional events, and attending dinners and lunches and making promotional pitches. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 82-101, 212-13.) He is alleged to have "worked as a consultant for Nutra Pharma" from 2013 to 2017 (Am. Compl. ¶ 21) and "received [compensation] from Nutra Pharma [after completing specific tasks,] purportedly for ‘investor relations’ " (Am. Compl. ¶ 101). He was involved in negotiations between Nutra Pharma and potential investors, and took an active role in finding investors. Finally, McManus does not argue that he is lawfully registered. Accordingly, McManus's motion to dismiss Claim 6 is DENIED.
Aiding and Abetting (Claims 11, 12, and 13)
Defendants argue that the aiding and abetting claims should be dismissed because the SEC has not alleged primary violations. (Deitsch Br. at 21.) Because the Court finds the SEC has adequately alleged the primary violations as discussed above, the portion of the Defendants' motions to dismiss the aiding and abetting claims is DENIED.
Buying quality stocks is the best get-rich-slow scheme. It’s not sexy as a get-rich-quick scheme,
but the probabilities of success are greater.
Remember........ It's better to wish you had bought a
stock, than to wish you hadn't.
