SEC Says Trio Hid Control of Pot Stock During $21 Million Gain

Corporate insiders wrongly earned $21 million off a securities fraud scheme using the convertible debt of cannabis company American Green Inc., the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a lawsuit.

Peter Jacobs and Albert Golusin, former executives of a predecessor company, and John Scuderi, a former American Green officer, concealed their control of American to skirt trading restrictions and registration requirements, said the SEC’s complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York. They buoyed the stock price with false statements and manipulative trading, it said.

Jacobs, Golusin, and their related entities lent money to American Green in exchange for equity-linked bonds, which converted to millions of American Green shares at a steep discount to prevailing market prices when the company failed to repay the loans on time, said the complaint filed Tuesday. Key decisions were often made as a result of Jacobs and Golusin’s input, “and in some cases without the input of the CEO,” the complaint said.

Trades by Jacobs and his related entities pulled profits of more than $11 million, while Golusin and his groups realized over $10 million, the commission said.

And Jacobs and Scuderi generated interest in and propped up the microcap stock’s price through “manipulative trading, promotional campaigns, and false statements” while lucratively selling shares in bulk, the SEC said.

Retail investors were left with “catastrophic losses” from the pump-and-dump scheme, which ran from 2017 through at least 2022, the agency said.

The SEC wants the court to order that all three return any ill-gotten gains, pay civil penalties, be barred from offering penny stocks and other securities, and other relief for alleged securities law violations. The commission also wants the court to ban Jacobs and Golusin from being an officer or director of a public company.

Gartenberg Gelfand Dolukhanyan LLP represents Golusin, Jenner & Block LLP represents Jacobs, and SECIL Law PLLC represents Scuderi. None of these firms immediately responded to emails seeking comment.

The case is SEC v. Golusin, E.D.N.Y., No. 1:25-cv-02379, complaint filed 4/29/25.