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

Former Andiamo Corp. chief executive officer Michael Starkweather has pleaded guilty in New York to a criminal charge stemming from the promotion of a non-existent smart phone. The government had accused Mr. Starkweather of accepting a kickback as part of a scheme in which Andiamo claimed to be developing phones through a Toronto entity. In reality, Andiamo never had the money to build the phones.

Mr. Starkweather entered the plea in an appearance on Monday, Feb. 24, before New York Judge Pamela Chen. The charge to which he pleaded guilty was one count of securities fraud. The judge allowed him to remain free on bond, previously set at $20,000, and set his sentencing for June 18, 2020. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

The guilty plea comes just four months after prosecutors in New York unsealed criminal charges against Mr. Starkweather, 35, with those charges coming one week after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a parallel civil action. The SEC's complaint, dated Oct. 17, 2019, cited Mr. Starkweather for Andiamo's supposed launch of three smart phones. The company touted the phones as coming in 2018, but the company had no real plan to make the phones, the SEC said.

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