Lola Emter of Courtside Products and BJ Davis of Beverly Hills Film Studios issued open letters and press statements to stockholders, regarding recent convictions for fraud involving their companies. Courtside Products and Beverly Hills Film Studios are only two of the fifteen companies, victimized by a group of "pump and dump" fraudsters.
MANAGERS OF DEFRAUDED PUBLIC COMPANIES
ISSUE STATEMENTS TO INVESTORS
Four defendants have pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of over $20 million in stock manipulation schemes involving 15 different publicly traded companies. On August 20, 2007, Michael Saquella, a.k.a. Michael Paloma, 47, of Mesa, Ariz., pleaded guilty for his participation in a “pump-and-dump” scheme. On July 25, 2007, Lawrence J. Kaplan, 63, of Scottsdale, Ariz., pleaded guilty to similar charges. On July 20, 2007, Henry “Hank” J. Zemla, 38, of Harris Township, Mich., also pleaded guilty for his involvement in this scheme.
Michael Paloma, whose real name is Michael Ralph Saquella, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on March 14, 2008 by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Paloma admitted to the government's charges of defrauding more than 25,000 investors of between $20 and $50 million dollars. A restitution judgment was also entered in the same case, ordering Michael Paloma to pay $7.8 million dollars.
PENNY STOCKS EXPOSED
