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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice have, for the second time this week, filed charges against a pair of Canadians for manipulating U.S. penny stocks. Prosecutors in New Jersey claim that two Toronto men participated in a $17-million scheme to manipulate a purported mining company and a purported oil and gas company. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The men created glossy mailers and participated in manipulative trades that boosted one stock to $3.79.

The men charged are Itamar Cohen, 52, a lawyer from Thornhill, Ont., and Mike Taxon, also 52, a former broker from Toronto, Ont. The case against the men, as described in a complaint the SEC filed in the District of New Jersey on Thursday, May 28, stems from the manipulations of Raven Gold Corp. and Kentucky USA Energy Inc. The SEC claims that the pair, working as paid promoters, embarked on campaigns that boosted Raven to $1.73 and Kentucky to $3.97. In all the scheme generated $17-million, of which $2.4-million went to Mr. Cohen and Mr. Taxon.

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