SEC v. CBA Pharma, Inc.; Wayne Michael Putnam; and Louis A. Carmichael, No. LR-26479, Eastern District of Kentucky (Feb. 6, 2026) — Press Release
raw: CBA Pharma, Inc., Wayne Michael Putnam, Louis A. Carmichael
CBA Pharma, Inc., Wayne Michael Putnam, Louis A. Carmichael, No. LR-26479 (Feb. 6, 2026)
summary
CBA Pharma and its executives, Wayne Michael Putnam and Louis Carmichael, were charged by the SEC for defrauding 160 investors of $4.1 million through misrepresentations regarding their drug CBT-1.
paragraph
The SEC charged CBA Pharma, Inc., President Wayne Michael Putnam, and VP Louis “Buzz” Carmichael with violating the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The defendants allegedly raised $4.1 million from 160 investors by falsely claiming their drug, CBT-1, was nearing FDA approval. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement, civil penalties, and officer bars against the individual executives.
narrative
The SEC filed charges against Kentucky-based biopharmaceutical company CBA Pharma, Inc., and its executives, Wayne Michael Putnam and Louis “Buzz” Carmichael, for a fraudulent securities offering. Between April 2023 and February 2024, the defendants raised approximately $4.1 million from 160 investors by misrepresenting the efficacy and FDA approval status of their drug, CBT-1. While they claimed the drug was in the final stages of approval, the FDA had actually withdrawn the application due to a lack of efficacy evidence. The SEC is pursuing charges for violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. Relief sought includes permanent injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties for the company, alongside individual bars for Putnam and Carmichael. This litigation is being led by the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Classified pre-ipo-fraud(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms S-1/Form D/1-A· recall 72% / precision 8%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionCBA Pharma, Inc.Wayne Michael PutnamLouis A. Carmichael
Keywords
cbapharmasecsecurities exchangeputnamcarmichaelsecuritieswayne michaelmichael putnamputnam carmichaelfdaincexchangecompanyputnam louis
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $4.10M $4.1 million $1M–$10M
Entities 3
- person cba pharma
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- agency steven l. klawans of the sec's chicago regional office
Triples 12
- Securities And Exchange Commission Filed Charges Against Cba Pharma, Inc., Wayne Michael Putnam, Louis 'Buzz' Carmichael
- Cba Pharma Conducted Fraudulent Securities Offering Which Raised Approximately $4.1 Million From Approximately 160 Investors
- Cba Pharma Misrepresented To Investors That Cbt-1 Was Effective In Treating Cancer By Preventing Multidrug Resistance To Cancer Treatments
- Fda Informed The Company That Its Drug Application For Cbt-1 Lacked Evidence Of Efficacy
- Fda Told The Company That It Had Withdrawn Cba Pharma's Drug Application For Cbt-1
- Sec Charges Cba Pharma, Putnam, And Carmichael With Violating Section 17(a) Of The Securities Act Of 1933 And Section 10(b) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934 And Rule 10b-5 Thereunder
- Sec Seeks a Permanent Injunction Disgorgement, Pre-judgment Interest, And a Civil Penalty As To Cba Pharma
- Sec Seeks Permanent Injunctions Civil Penalties, And Bars From Participating In Any Issuance, Purchase, Offer Or Sale Of Any Security
- Sec Conducted Investigation By Tracy W. Lo And Nicholas Magena
- Sec Supervised Investigation By Steven L. Klawans Of The Sec's Chicago Regional Office
- Sec Litigation Will Be Led By Eric Phillips And Timothy Stockwell Of The Chicago Regional Office
- Sec Appreciates Assistance Of U.S. Attorney's Office For The Eastern District Of Kentucky, Federal Bureau Of Investigation's Louisville Field Office And The Fda
PDF (from attached: complaint)
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Extracted body text (2,389c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26479 / February 6, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. CBA Pharma, Inc., et al., No. 26-cv-00042 (E.D. Ky. filed Feb. 5, 2026)SEC Charges Kentucky-Based Biopharmaceutical Company and Two Executives with Defrauding InvestorsOn February 5, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against CBA Pharma, Inc., a private Kentucky-based biopharmaceutical company; Wayne Michael Putnam, its president; and Louis “Buzz” Carmichael, its vice president of capital markets, for allegedly conducting a fraudulent securities offering which raised approximately $4.1 million from approximately 160 investors.The SEC’s complaint alleges that from April 2023 to February 2024, CBA Pharma, through Putnam and Carmichael, misrepresented to investors that CBA Pharma’s lone drug, CBT-1, was effective in treating cancer by preventing multidrug resistance to cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, and was in the final stages of obtaining approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). According to the complaint, however, CBT-1 was never close to FDA approval, the FDA had informed the company that its drug application for CBT-1 lacked evidence of efficacy, and, by April 2023, the FDA told the company that it had withdrawn CBA Pharma’s drug application for CBT-1.The SEC’s complaint, filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, charges CBA Pharma, Putnam, and Carmichael with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b‑5 thereunder. The SEC seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement, pre-judgment interest, and a civil penalty as to CBA Pharma and permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and bars from participating in any issuance, purchase, offer or sale of any security, except for certain transactions within personal accounts as to Putnam and Carmichael.The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Tracy W. Lo and Nicholas Magena and was supervised by Steven L. Klawans of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Eric Phillips and Timothy Stockwell of the Chicago Regional Office.The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Louisville Field Office and the FDA.
OCR text (2,389c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26479 / February 6, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. CBA Pharma, Inc., et al., No. 26-cv-00042 (E.D. Ky. filed Feb. 5, 2026)SEC Charges Kentucky-Based Biopharmaceutical Company and Two Executives with Defrauding InvestorsOn February 5, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against CBA Pharma, Inc., a private Kentucky-based biopharmaceutical company; Wayne Michael Putnam, its president; and Louis “Buzz” Carmichael, its vice president of capital markets, for allegedly conducting a fraudulent securities offering which raised approximately $4.1 million from approximately 160 investors.The SEC’s complaint alleges that from April 2023 to February 2024, CBA Pharma, through Putnam and Carmichael, misrepresented to investors that CBA Pharma’s lone drug, CBT-1, was effective in treating cancer by preventing multidrug resistance to cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy, and was in the final stages of obtaining approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). According to the complaint, however, CBT-1 was never close to FDA approval, the FDA had informed the company that its drug application for CBT-1 lacked evidence of efficacy, and, by April 2023, the FDA told the company that it had withdrawn CBA Pharma’s drug application for CBT-1.The SEC’s complaint, filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, charges CBA Pharma, Putnam, and Carmichael with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b‑5 thereunder. The SEC seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement, pre-judgment interest, and a civil penalty as to CBA Pharma and permanent injunctions, civil penalties, and bars from participating in any issuance, purchase, offer or sale of any security, except for certain transactions within personal accounts as to Putnam and Carmichael.The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Tracy W. Lo and Nicholas Magena and was supervised by Steven L. Klawans of the SEC’s Chicago Regional Office. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Eric Phillips and Timothy Stockwell of the Chicago Regional Office.The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Louisville Field Office and the FDA.