Registered Broker Pleads Guilty To Particpating In A $131 Million Market Manipulation Scheme

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/registered-broker-pleads-guilty-securities-fraud-particpating-131-million-market

Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Eastern District of New York


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Registered Broker Pleads Guilty To Securities Fraud For Particpating In A $131 Million Market Manipulation Scheme

Defendant Profited By Selling To Investors Worthless Stock Of A Company That Purported To Be A Worldwide Distributor And Provider Of LED Lighting Products And Solutions

Earlier today, Naveed Khan, a registered broker, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with the fraudulent market manipulation of ForceField Energy Inc. (ForceField), a publicly-traded company listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “FNRG.” The guilty plea was entered before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, New York. When sentenced, Khan faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture, and a fine.
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According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, between January 2009 and April 2015, the defendant, together with others, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in ForceField, a purported worldwide distributor and provider of LED lighting products and solutions, by artificially controlling the price and volume of traded shares of ForceField through, among other means: (1) using nominees to purchase and sell ForceField stock without disclosing this information to investors and potential investors; (2) orchestrating the trading of ForceField stock to create the appearance of genuine trading volume and interest in the stock; and (3) concealing payments to stock promoters and broker dealers who promoted and sold ForceField stock to investors and potential investors while claiming to be independent of the company. The fraudulent scheme caused a loss of approximately $131 million to the investing public.

Between October 2014 and April 2015, a ForceField executive paid kickbacks to Khan in exchange for purchasing ForceField stock in his clients’ brokerage accounts. Khan and ForceField did not disclose to Khan’s clients the kickbacks Khan was receiving for purchasing ForceField stock. Khan and his co-conspirators took pains to conceal their participation in the fraudulent scheme by using prepaid, disposable cellular telephones and encrypted, content-expiring messaging applications to communicate with each other, and by paying kickbacks in cash.
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