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by Mike Caswell

Geoffrey Eiten, the Boston tout who held himself out as "America's Leading Micro-Cap Stock Picker," has agreed to a permanent ban from penny stocks. Mr. Eiten accepted the ban to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission stemming from overly optimistic reports he wrote that boosted four stocks. The SEC said he made projections that had no basis in reality, among them a claim that a Vancouver company had developed the "fastest router in the world."

Mr. Eiten's ban is contained in a consent to judgment dated Dec. 18, 2013. Among other things, he has agreed to an order that bars him from promoting penny stocks and from deriving any compensation from promoting penny stocks. He has also agreed to a ban from participating in any offering of penny stocks. Mr. Eiten did not admit to any wrongdoing in accepting the penalties. A judge still must accept the settlement.

The ban is in addition to any monetary penalties, which the judge still must determine. It is not clear what such penalties could be, but the SEC previously secured a $1.6-million default judgment for Mr. Eiten's company, National Financial Communications Corp. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The amount represented disgorgement of $605,262 in profits plus a $1-million civil penalty.

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