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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has permanently banned Marlio Diaz and Carlos Rezk, two Florida men charged alongside Toronto's Andy DeFrancesco for an $8-million pump-and-dump on the OTC Markets. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC said that the men helped mislead investors in a company that supposedly had a "$900 Million Opportunity from Apple." Among other things, the men claimed that the company's stores were outdoing major retailers in their ability to make sales.

The bans for Mr. Diaz and Mr. Rezk are contained in judgments entered on Nov. 21, 2023, in federal court in New York. The judgments ban each man from serving as an officer or director. In addition, each must pay a $223,229 fine within 30 days. The judgments represent a negotiated settlement, in which Mr. Diaz and Mr. Rezk did not admit any wrongdoing.

The penalties come about five months after the SEC settled with Mr. DeFrancesco for the scheme, with a judge ordering him to pay $3-million. The judge also banned Mr. DeFrancesco from serving as an officer or director. As with the others, the penalties for Mr. DeFrancesco came as part of a negotiated settlement, in which he did not admit any wrongdoing.

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