According to the criminal complaint, between December 2011 and April 2012, the men engaged in a scheme to make it appear that a particular penny stock was being actively traded. During that period the men accounted for 85 percent of the trades in the particular stock related to a purported flea market business in Florida. The conspirators allegedly engaged in “matched trades” where one sold shares and the other bought shares to make it appear investors were interested in the company In fact the penny stock had little value and no business that would generate significant revenue or income. In addition to the trades to make it appear there was interest in the stock, the men sent fraudulent and misleading “blast” e-mails through promotional websites and e-mail addresses under their control with the intent of increasing demand for the stock. The blast e-mails enticed other unknowing investors to buy the stock – then the men sold their shares, earning a profit of more than $223,000. CHRISTOPHER MROWCA and ALEXANDER HAWATMEH then engaged in a scheme to launder the proceeds of the illegal stock manipulation scheme by passing the money through third party accounts and ultimately purchasing gold and silver bars.
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