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by Mike Caswell

Richard Clark, an Oklahoma businessman serving 12 years in jail for a $44-million pump-and-dump, has lost an effort to overturn his sentence. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) He had complained to the United States Court of Appeals that his original trial was unfair, as he was unable to pay for his lawyers. The appeal court, however, has agreed that his legal representation was adequate, and has ruled that he has no legal basis to challenge the sentence.

The loss comes over seven years after prosecutors charged Mr. Clark and others, including former Canadian broker Dean Sheptycki, for a 2005 pump-and-dump scheme. The men illegally promoted four pink sheets listings, with one of the promotions taking advantage of hurricane Katrina, the government claimed. The men boosted the stocks with misleading spam and faxes, and dumped millions of shares, according to prosecutors. A jury convicted Mr. Clark after a 15-day trial in April, 2010. He subsequently received a 12-year jail term, which he is scheduled to complete on April 17, 2021.

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