SEC Suspends Trading of 26 Companies to Combat Corporate Hijackings
Actions Are First From Enforcement Division's Recently-Formed Microcap Fraud Working Group
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-41
Washington, D.C., March 13, 2008 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today suspended trading in the securities of 26 companies that appear to have usurped the identity of defunct or inactive publicly-traded corporations using a tactic known as corporate hijacking. The Commission ordered the suspensions because of questions regarding the adequacy and accuracy of information pertaining to their status as publicly-traded companies.
The trading suspensions are part of the SEC's stepped-up effort to address fraud involving the securities of non-exchange traded, or microcap, securities. These are the first actions resulting from the recent formation of the Enforcement Division's microcap fraud working group. In March 2007, the Commission suspended trading in the securities of 35 companies as part of the SEC's Anti-Spam Initiative, which targets potentially fraudulent spam e-mail.
"Microcap investing involves thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of investors. Keeping this tier of the market honest and free of fraud is every bit as important to investor confidence as our regulation of the world's largest companies and exchanges," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. "These trading suspensions demonstrate the SEC's intensified commitment to eradicating microcap fraud. The trading suspensions, and the actions that will follow, should leave no doubt that the Commission will use all of the weapons in its arsenal to combat those who threaten the integrity of our markets."
Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, added, "Hijackings are a burgeoning problem, and a type which the Division's microcap fraud working group was created to address. Today's trading suspensions are squarely aimed at putting the market on notice about the risks associated with acquiring non-operational or 'shell' companies, and with investing in microcaps. This is a first step. We will continue to vigorously investigate those involved."
In conducting the corporate hijacking, certain persons appear to have incorporated each of the 26 companies using the same name as a then defunct or inactive publicly-traded corporation. For identification purposes, each class of an issuer's publicly-traded securities is assigned a ticker symbol by Nasdaq Reorganization and a CUSIP number by the Standard & Poor's CUSIP Bureau. These same persons appear to have usurped the CUSIP numbers and ticker symbols assigned to the defunct or inactive corporations' publicly-traded securities for use by the newly-incorporated entities. They then appear to have obtained new CUSIP numbers and ticker symbols in lieu of the old ones, also for use of the newly incorporated entities, by apparently representing falsely that they were duly authorized officers, directors, or agents of the original publicly-traded corporation.
The trading suspensions will last for 10 business days. The trading suspensions commenced today at 9:30 a.m. ET and terminate at 11:59 p.m. ET on March 27, 2008.
The 26 companies whose trading was suspended today are: Andros Isle Development Corp. (AVPJ); Asante Networks, Inc. (ASTN); Beluga Composites Corporation (BGCC); Cobra Energy Inc. (CBNG); Complete Care Medical, Inc. (CCMI); Disability Access Corporation (DBYC); El Alacran Gold Mine Corp. (EAGM); Extreme Fitness Inc. (EXTF); Gaming Transactions Inc. (GGTS); Global Equity Fund, Inc. (GEQF); HealthSonix Inc. (HSXI); IQ Webquest, Inc. (IQWB); JSX Energy Inc. (JSXG); Kensington Industries, Inc. (KSGT); Kingslake Energy Inc. (KGLJ); L International Computers Inc. (LITL); Let's Talk Recovery Inc. (LKRV); Mobilestream, Inc. (MSRM); Mvive, Inc. (MVIV); Native American Energy Group Inc. (NVMG); Paramount Gold and Silver Corp. (PZG); Regal Technologies Inc. (RGTN); Remington Ventures, Inc. (REMV); Straight Up Brands, Inc. (STRU); Transglobal Oil Corp. (TRGO); and Turquoise Development Company (TQDC).
AI
