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by Mike Caswell

Pravan Patel, one of the defendants in the Forcefield Energy Inc. scheme, has agreed to plead guilty. New York prosecutors claim that he was a broker who received kickbacks in exchange for placing customers into the stock. He did so while Forcefield's chairman, a Canadian named Richard St. Julien, allegedly ran a fraud that boosted the company to $7.84. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

The expected guilty plea from Mr. Patel comes as the government is preparing a trial for his co-defendants over a scheme that prosecutors say defrauded investors of millions. According to the government, Mr. St. Julien paid secret kickbacks to brokers and others he had hired to pitch Forcefield. Most investors suffered catastrophic losses after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission halted the stock on April 21, 2015, citing a possible manipulation in progress. After the halt expired, the stock became nearly worthless (and was last at 0.01 cent).

Mr. Patel, 35, worked as a broker in Boca Raton, Fla., during the Forcefield scheme. His role, as described by the SEC, was relatively minor. Between March and April, 2015, he used the accounts of five customers to buy $62,855 worth of Forcefield Energy shares, the regulator says. In return he received $2,144 in cash, according to the SEC.

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