Figurehead CEOs Helped $112 Million Stock Scheme, SEC Says (1)

Sham CEOs of three microcap companies issued shares with an aggregate market value of $112 million in a pump-and-dump scheme, the SEC alleges.

William Justice, Randell Torno, and Brian Shibley—along with disbarred attorney Keith Rosenbaum—violated securities laws in helping their friend Philip Verges run the complex stock and promissory note scheme, the Securities and Exchange Commission says.

The agency filed its complaint Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Verges controlled the penny stock companies and directed the CEOs’ actions, the SEC says. Verges also directed the CEOs to issue stock to recipients he named, ...