SEC settles Net fraud case with teen By Reuters September 20, 2000 2:40 PM PT URL: http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2630621,00.html WASHINGTON -- The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday settled a case against a New Jersey teen who allegedly made more than $272,000 in profit from an Internet stock fraud manipulation scheme. Without admitting or denying the charges, Jonathan Lebed, 15, agreed to repay the money he allegedly made plus interest, for a total of $285,000, the SEC said, adding it was the first time it has brought charges against a minor. In settling the matter, Lebed's attorney said: "Mr. Lebed feels this is a fair settlement, and he and his family are happy to put this matter behind them." Lebed, of Cedar Grove, N.J., was 14 years old when he bought a large block of a small, thinly traded microcap stocks, then began touting the shares on Yahoo! message boards, the SEC complaint said. False statements The postings he made included baseless price predictions and other false and/or misleading statements, the SEC said. In one instance, Lebed claimed that a company trading for $2 a share would go for more than $20 a share "very soon." Other messages said that a stock would be the "next stock to gain 1,000 pct," and was "the most undervalued stock ever," the SEC alleged. Lebed's postings always caused the price and volume of the touted stocks to rise dramatically, the SEC contended. Within 24 hours, he sold all of the shares, profiting from the increase in price that his messages caused. Lebed's profits on each trade ranged from at least $11,000 to nearly $74,000, the civil complaint said. to unsubscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to subscribe send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] more good stuff at http://theMezz.com/alerts ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
