James Bond Fan Behind Stock Scheme Owes SEC Almost $53 Million

A microcap fraud defendant who gave himself a code name based on fictional spy James Bond must pay the SEC nearly $53 million after the agency secured a default judgment, a federal judge in Massachusetts said.

Frederick Sharp is on the hook for almost $29 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and nearly $24 million more as a Securities and Exchange Commission fine, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts said in a final judgment following the default.

Sharp, who lived in Canada, was the “mastermind and leader” of a group that helped people hide their identities and ...