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by Mike Caswell

Gerald Cocuzzo, one of the brokers in the Forcefield Energy Inc. scheme, has received 18 months in jail. Mr. Cocuzzo, 39, received the sentence in an appearance on Friday, July 7, before New York Judge Brian Cogan. The sentence represents just a fraction of the 10-year term that prosecutors had sought.

The government claimed that Mr. Cocuzzo, a former broker from Florida, aided Canadian Richard St. Julien in a $131-million market manipulation. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Mr. St. Julien arranged secret payments to several brokers, including Mr. Cocuzzo, as part of a years-long scheme to boost Forcefield. The stock went to a $7.54 high during the scheme (and was last at 0.02 cent). Most investors suffered catastrophic losses after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission halted the company on April 21, 2015, citing a possible manipulation in progress. Mr. Cocuzzo pleaded guilty on Nov. 8, 2016.

The sentence imposed by Judge Cogan on Friday falls far short of the eight to 10 years in jail that prosecutors had sought. They said that Mr. Cocuzzo's participation in the scheme coincided with an increase of $1.24 in Forcefield's price. This amounted to $24.8-million in losses that he helped inflict on investors.

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