SEC Files Complaint Against East Delta Resources Corp., Victor Sun, David Amsel and Mayer Amsel for Market Manipulation Scheme
Litigation Release No. 21395 / January 26, 2010
Securities and Exchange Commission v. East Delta Resources Corp., Victor Sun, David Amsel and Mayer Amsel, Civil No. CV10-0310 (E.D.N.Y., filed Jan. 26, 2010)
SEC Files Complaint Against East Delta Resources Corp., Victor Sun, David Amsel and Mayer Amsel for Market Manipulation Scheme
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) today filed a complaint against East Delta Resources Corp. (East Delta), Victor Sun, David Amsel and Mayer Amsel in United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleging that they violated the Federal securities laws in a scheme to manipulate the market for the securities of East Delta. According to the complaint, from 2004 through at least 2006, the Defendants pumped up the volume of market activity of East Delta stock, issued false press releases and illegally sold East Delta shares that they had received from East Delta at little or no cost. The fraudulent proceeds from this scheme totaled more than $1,400,000.
The complaint alleges that from 2004 through at least 2006, Mayer Amsel, a consultant to East Delta, engaged in wash sales, matched orders, and other manipulative trading to give the market the false impression that there was real demand for East Delta shares. During this period, East Delta's share price generally moved upward from around $.25 in early 2004 to a high of just above $1 in September 2005 and February 2006. The complaint further alleges that David Amsel, Mayer Amsel's brother and the company's investor relations contact, gave Mayer full authority to trade in his Canadian and U.S. brokerage accounts that Mayer Amsel used to conduct his manipulative trading of East Delta stock. According to the complaint, the purportedly free trading shares Mayer Amsel used to conduct his manipulation came both from East Delta via an improper registration statement on Form S-8, as well as from millions of shares that CEO Victor Sun secretly controlled in the name of others. The complaint also alleges that David Amsel and Victor Sun, as the manipulative trading was ongoing, prepared and caused East Delta to issue and file materially false and misleading and touting press releases and Commission filings about East Delta's mining business. The complaint alleges that David and Mayer Amsel together earned at least $800,000 from the fraudulent scheme, and that Sun earned at least $600,000. In addition, the complaint alleges that East Delta has failed entirely to file its required annual report for 2008 and quarterly reports for the first three quarters in 2009 to the Commission.
The Commission's complaint alleges that East Delta, Sun and the Amsels violated or aided and abetted violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act), Sections 10(b) and 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Exchange Act Rules 10b-5, 12b-20 and 13a-1. The complaint alleges that East Delta also violated Exchange Act Rule 13a-13, and that Sun violated Exchange Act Section 16(a) and Rules 13a-14 and 16a-3. It seeks a judgment permanently enjoining Defendants from violating these securities laws, requiring an accounting and the payment of disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, requiring the payment of civil monetary penalties, barring Sun and the Amsels from participating in future penny stock offerings, and barring Sun and David Amsel from serving as an officer or director of a registered issuer.
Separately, on January 13, 2010 the Commission suspended trading in East Delta securities for failure to file periodic reports, and today ordered that administrative proceedings be instituted to determine whether to revoke or suspend the registration of the securities of East Delta.
The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Quebec Autorite des Marches Financiers and FINRA in its investigation.
For further information, see Release No. 34-61341, Jan. 13, 2009, and Release No. 34-61423, January 26, 2010, and Complaint, Securities and Exchange Commission v. East Delta Resources Corp., Victor Sun, David Amsel and Mayer Amsel, Civil No. CV10-0310 (E.D.N.Y., filed January 26, 2010).
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.