Vinco Ventures Chief Charged With Securities Fraud Conspiracy

Vinco Ventures Inc. CEO Roderick “Rod” Vanderbilt has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with representations he made about the media-focused selective acquisition company’s operations and control.

The criminal information, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on New Year’s Eve, accuses Vanderbilt of conspiring with former Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc. chairman Theodore Farnsworth to artificially inflate Vinco’s stock price, by—among other things—hiding Farnsworth’s involvement at the company.

Prosecutors allege that Farnsworth selected Vanderbilt and others “with the understanding that those individuals would act at his ...