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by Mike Caswell

Naveed Khan and Richard Brown, two New York brokers charged for a $131-million scheme headed by Canada's Richard St. Julien, have pleaded guilty. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The pair entered the pleas in separate appearances before New York Judge Ramon Reyes. The judge set their sentencing dates for Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, 2016, and allowed them to remain free on previously granted $250,000 appearance bonds.

Prosecutors claim that Mr. Khan and Mr. Brown were part of a scheme in which Mr. St. Julien defrauded investors in a Nasdaq listing called Forcefield Energy Inc. According to the government, Mr. St. Julien paid secret kickbacks to brokers and others he had hired to pitch the stock. Most investors suffered catastrophic losses after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission halted Forcefield on April 21, 2015, citing a possible manipulation in progress. The stock, which had a $7.54 high, became nearly worthless (and was last at 0.15 cent).

The government identified Mr. Khan as a registered broker from Staten Island who put over 40 clients into Forcefield Energy, buying $531,000 worth of stock for their accounts. In return he received $49,000 in cash, the government claimed. Prosecutors made similar allegations against Mr. Brown, a broker from Huntington, N.Y. The government claimed that he placed 25 clients into Forcefield Energy in 2014 and 2015, buying $1,735,000 worth of shares in their accounts. In return he received at least $30,000 in cash and was owed another $55,000.

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