Back in September 2007 as I was first getting into shorting pumps and dumps, there was a huge mailer pump of a company that seemed to have a nice business plan — online booking of private jets. This company, Connect-a-Jet, was a complete sham and every press release put out by the company to coincide with the pump was a lie. I either did not short Connect-a-Jet at all or only shorted in very small size because I was scared of that fact that it was a non-SEC reporting company so I couldn’t be sure if they really had assets. That was foolish and a little investigation would have revealed the company to be a complete scam.
It is nice to see criminal convictions in these cases because prison terms are much more of a deterrent than SEC fines.
Martin Cantu, 58, a Round Rock [Texas] attorney, was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud after a six-day trial.
He faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy and 20 years and a $250,000 fine for securities fraud. He will be sentenced on Sept. 9 by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.
Stock promoter and company founder Jason Wynn, 32, of Lantana, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy on April 30 and is awaiting sentencing.
Courthouse News Article
Dallas Observer article
Disclaimer: I have no position in Connect-a-Jet and no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.