Look at these pumpers using PRs to tout their case and only expressing in a footnote that they haven't proven it yet.
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney’s Office
District of Delaware
1007 Orange Street, Suite 700
P.O. Box 2046 (302) 573-6277
Wilmington, Delaware 19899-2046 FAX (302) 573-6220
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE David C. Weiss
Thursday, May 21, 2009 Acting United States Attorney
(302) 573-6277
PRESS RELEASE
SEVEN INDICTED IN "PUMP AND DUMP" STOCK SCHEMES
David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today
the unsealing of five indictments against seven individuals as part of a two-year securities fraud
investigation into the manipulation of so-called “penny stocks” traded through the over-the-counter
stock markets. The fraud schemes described in the indictments all involve efforts to manipulate the
prices of publicly traded stocks to create the illusion of market interest in the stocks. The goal was
to induce the investing public to purchase a stock based on the artificial trading volume, and thus
increase the price of the stock. The defendants then were able to sell off significant holdings in
these stocks, generating millions of dollars in proceeds. Such a scheme is known colloquially as a
“pump and dump.”
Joining Acting U.S. Attorney Weiss in this announcement were John Kelleghan, Special
Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Philadelphia; Don Fort, Special Agent in
Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia office; and Colonel
Thomas Mac Leish, Superintendent of the Delaware State Police. The investigation was conducted
in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission, who today also announced the filing
of a related civil complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.
The Indictments are merely accusations, and 1 all defendants are presumed innocent unless
proven guilty.
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The five indictments were unsealed late yesterday, following arrests in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida,
and Los Angeles, and Orange County, California.1 The seven defendants named in the indictments
are:
• Pawel Dynkowski, age 24, formerly of Newark, Delaware;
• Joseph Mangiapane, Jr., age 43, of Laguna Niguel, California;
• Marc Riviello, age 50, of Atherton, California;
• Matthew W. Brown, age 26, of Aliso Viejo, California;
• Jacob Canceli, age 50, of Mission Viejo, California;
• Gerard D’Amaro, age 38, of Lighthouse Point, Florida; and
• Angelo R. “Bill” Panetta, age 48, of Montebello, California.
The companies whose stocks the defendants are charged with manipulating and conspiring to
manipulate include GH3 International, Inc. (stock ticker: GHTI); Asia Global Holdings Corp. (stock
ticker: AAGH); Playstar Corporation (stock ticker: PLYCF); and INCA Designs, Inc. (stock ticker:
IDGI).
“The integrity of our nation’s public stock markets requires protection from those greedy few
who engage in market manipulation at the expense of many,” said Acting United States Attorney
Weiss. “The wide-ranging actions of the defendants demonstrate rampant, serial abuse of the freemarket
system through a nationwide network of manipulative trading, which netted the defendants
millions of dollars in fraud proceeds. Especially in these challenging economic times, the United
States Attorney’s Office is committed to vigorously prosecuting those who continue to undermine
our system of capital markets by committing securities fraud.”
“For as long as societies have had financial systems, there have been people who attempt to
exploit those systems,” said John P. Kelleghan, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of
Investigations in Philadelphia. “One of ICE's priorities is to work with our law enforcement partners
to protect the public and the integrity of our nation’s financial system.”
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“Money laundering is a global threat, fuel for criminals to conduct their criminal affairs and is
used to manipulate and erode our financial systems,” said Don Fort, Special Agent in Charge,
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Philadelphia.
The Alleged Scheme
Taken together, the indictments allege that, between September 2006 and September 2008,
defendants Dynkowski, Mangiapane, Riviello, Brown, Canceli, and D’Amaro sought to fraudulently
inflate market demand for, and thus the prices of, shares of various companies traded through the
“pinksheets” and on the over-the-counter bulletin board by manipulating sales of those stocks in a
way that appeared to be the product of free and fair market forces. To accomplish this, the
indictments allege that the defendants used sham conversions of corporate debt, postings on on-line
message boards, and manipulative trading (such as wash sales and matched orders). As alleged in
the indictments, these actions were often timed to coincide with false and/or misleading press
releases from the issuers, which were at times orchestrated by the defendants. Once the fraudulent
market demand was created, the defendants would sell off large blocks of shares that they had
acquired, generating millions of dollars in profits at the expense of unwary investors. The
indictments further allege that the proceeds from these stock sales were laundered through various
individuals’ and entities’ bank accounts, both inside and outside the United States.
The Indictments
A nine-count indictment filed on April 16, 2009, charges Pawel Dynkowski and Joseph
Mangiapane, Jr., with various securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud,
conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering offenses. Marc Riviello is charged
with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money
laundering, and one count of money laundering. A separate indictment charging Matthew W.
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Brown with related offenses was also returned on April 16, 2009. The charges in these indictments
primarily arise out of the alleged manipulation of GHTI and AAGH.
Jacob Canceli was charged on April 16, 2009, with one count each of conspiracy to commit
securities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. These
charges principally relate to his alleged involvement in the manipulation of GHTI.
A four-count indictment filed on April 30, 2009, charges Gerard D’Amaro and Pawel
Dynkowski each with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, one count of securities
fraud, one count of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. These
charges primarily arise out of the alleged manipulation of PLYCF and IDGI.
Defendant Angelo R. “Bill” Panetta is charged separately with one count of perjury and one
count of obstruction of justice in connection with his testimony before a grand jury for the District
of Delaware. According to the indictment, Panetta provided false testimony to the Grand Jury
concerning conversations he had with “R.R.,” another subject of the investigation, during which
Panetta and R.R. discussed how Panetta might handle the questions posed to him in the Grand Jury.
Panetta is also charged with concealing from the Grand Jury his knowledge of another person
involved in the investigation.
Each count of securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit
money laundering carries a maximum penalty of twenty years imprisonment, and fines ranging from
$250,000 to $5,000,000. Each count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud carries a maximum
penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalties for perjury and
obstruction of justice are five and ten years imprisonment, respectively, and a $250,000 fine per
count.
Acting U.S. Attorney Weiss praised the cooperative law enforcement effort that resulted in
these charges. The investigation, which began in 2007, has been pursued jointly by local ICE, IRS,
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and DSP authorities, with assistance from local and federal investigators in Orange County,
California, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and New York City. Acting U.S. Attorney Weiss also thanked
the SEC for its willingness to provide invaluable assistance to the federal authorities. Acting U.S.
Attorney Weiss stated that the investigation is continuing.
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