Jammin Java Corp (JAMN)

[scion]

SEC Probes Jammin Java, Company Chaired by Bob Marley’s Son

September 07, 2011, 7:56 PM EDT
By Karen Gullo
(Updates with company filing in second paragraph.)
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-07/sec-probes-jammin-java-company-chaired-by-bob-marley-s-son.html

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Jammin Java Corp., a coffee company chaired by son of the reggae legend Bob Marley, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible involvement in a so-called pump and dump scheme.

The SEC staff is looking into whether online newsletters touting Jammin Java stock through blast faxes and investor message boards contained false and misleading information, according to documents filed Sept. 2 in federal court in Oakland, California. The company said in a May SEC filing that no one at Jammin Java authorized or paid for any stock reports.

The probe was disclosed in a lawsuit by individuals trying to block SEC subpoenas issued in the investigation.

Jammin Java’s share price rose from 17 cents in December to $6.35 on May 12, after which it plunged to less than a $1 a share, the SEC said in the documents.

The jump in the Los Angeles-based coffee wholesaler coincided with the dissemination of newsletters lauding its stock, the SEC claimed. A formal order of investigation was issued in May directing staff to investigate possible securities law violations by Jammin Java, its officers, partners, consultants and “other persons and entities,” the documents said. Rohan Marley is the company’s chairman.

‘Shell Company’

“The increase in Jammin Java’s share price occurred nothwithstanding the fact that Jammin Java’s public filings during that time period reflected that Jammin Java was a shell company that had generated no revenues and had an accumulated deficit of $511,760,” the SEC said in documents.

Stuart Smith, head of investor relations at Jammin Java, declined to comment immediately on the SEC documents. He cited a company regulatory filing that had warned investors of “unauthorized stock promotion campaigns touting short term investments in company’s stock which are paid for third parties” without the company’s knowledge. The company said it “expressly repudiates the promotions.”

John Nester, an SEC spokesman, didn’t immediately answer an e-mail seeking comment on the investigation send after regular business hours.

--Editors: Fred Strasser, Glenn Holdcraft

To contact the reporter about this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco federal court at [e-mail].

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at [e-mail]

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-07/sec-probes-jammin-java-company-chaired-by-bob-marley-s-son.html