This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Mike Caswell

Shawn Becker, a former broker charged with aiding in a $10.6-million market manipulation scheme run from Ontario, denies that he did anything wrong. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) He says that he did not participate in any fraud or break any securities rules. He asks that the case be dismissed and is seeking a trial by jury.

Mr. Becker, 54, is responding to civil charges the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed against him and others on May 5, 2014, for manipulating two Chinese OTC Bulletin Board companies. The SEC claims that the men, led by Ontario resident S. Paul Kelley, artificially boosted the stocks over a two-year period and kept them at prices between $3 and $4 for over a year. Mr. Becker's roles in the scheme, as described by the SEC, included soliciting investors and executing wash trades.

For his part, Mr. Becker denies that he did anything wrong, but he has provided few details. Through his lawyer, he filed an answer to the charges on Thursday, July 31. Although the document is 25 pages long, it mostly contains bare denials to each of the 183 paragraphs of the SEC's complaint. (He only admits to some routine items, such as his age being approximately 54.) In what details he does provide, he describes his share transactions as being "made in the ordinary course of business for legitimate business purposes." He denies that he acted in partnership with any of the other defendants or that he participated in any scheme or fraud that violated the securities laws.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS