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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has secured a permanent penny stock ban and $684,434 disgorgement order against Gregg Berger, 48, the broker in the spam-fuelled pump-and-dumps of several stocks, including Vancouver-based China Mobility Solutions Inc. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The penalties, contained in a consent judgment handed down on Friday, Jan. 27, come four months after a Detroit judge sentenced Mr. Berger to two years in jail for the scheme.

The SEC claimed that Mr. Berger, who worked at New York-based Gilford Securities Inc., fraudulently earned $684,542 in commissions while helping others dump $33-million worth of shares in spam-promoted stocks. His co-defendants included Vancouver's How Wai John Hui and Detroit's self-proclaimed "Godfather of Spam," Alan Ralsky, who are also both in jail for the scheme.

Mr. Berger agreed to the ban and the disgorgement order in a negotiated settlement. Even though he pleaded guilty in the criminal case, he did not admit to any wrongdoing in settling the SEC charges. (The SEC's case predates its policy of not allowing those who have pleaded guilty in parallel criminal cases to deny wrongdoing.)

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