NJ Man Ordered to Pay Back $5.3 Million in SEC Dealer Case

A New Jersey man who bought and sold newly issued penny stock shares must pay back over $5.3 million because he acted as an unregistered securities dealer, a federal judge ordered.

Judge Georgette Castner in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey last year found John Fierro and his firm, JDF Capital Inc., met the definition of a securities dealer under federal law.

Castner on Tuesday ordered Fierro to disgorge his profits—nearly $5.38 million with interest—even though the Securities and Exchange Commission hasn’t identified any investors who were harmed.

Federal appeals courts have split over the SEC’s ...