SEC v. George John Drazenovic, No. LR-26449, Southern District of New York (Dec. 19, 2025) — Press Release

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26449 / December 19, 2025Securities and Exchange Commission v. George John Drazenovic, No. 25-cv-10492 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 18, 2025)SEC Files Settled Action as to British Columbia CPA for Allegedly Furthering Multimillion Dollar Penny Stock Fraud SchemesOn December 18, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a settled action as to George John Drazenovic, a Canadian citizen and British Columbia-licensed chartered professional accountant, alleging that he recklessly furthered two penny stock rings’ pump-and-dump frauds. Drazenovic consented to the entry of a judgment without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations.The SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that, from at least April 2010 to October 2019, Drazenovic furthered penny stock fraud schemes by at least two distinct rings, both of which were the subject of an earlier complaint filed by the SEC. According to the complaint, Drazenovic acted as a finder of mineral extraction or exploration rights, which then served as the purported marquee assets of at least ten different penny stock issuers and were central to the pump-and-dump frauds. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Drazenovic recklessly disregarded that the rings for which he was working (i) controlled and funded each issuer; (ii) were not investing, and had no intention of investing, the resources necessary to discover or extract the respective minerals beyond minimal levels; (iii) nevertheless orchestrated promotional campaigns touting each issuer’s purportedly realistic prospects of near-term abundant extraction of the respective mineral; (iv) sold their stock into the share-price and buy-side demand rises those campaigns triggered; and (v) used proceeds of those sales to pay Drazenovic.The SEC's complaint charges Drazenovic with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, and Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, Drazenovic consented to the entry of a proposed final judgment, which is subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin him from violating Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act by engaging in certain conduct, and impose a conduct-based injunction that would prohibit Drazenovic from inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any security, unless that security is publicly traded and has had a market capitalization of at least $50,000,000 for 90 consecutive days. The proposed final judgment, if approved, would also permanently bar Drazenovic from participating in the offering of penny stock, bar him from serving as an officer or director of a public company for three years, and order him to pay disgorgement of $331,595, plus prejudgment interest of $51,050, and a civil penalty of $236,451. Additionally, in a related administrative proceeding, Drazenovic consented to the entry of a Commission order, which, if approved, would suspend him from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant.The SEC's investigation was conducted by Benjamin D. Brutlag, Danica A. Hames, and Zachary J. Scrima, with assistance from David Nasse and Carina Cuellar, and supervised by J. Lee Buck, II and Pei Y. Chung. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Alberta Securities Commission, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Denmark, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority, the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the United Arab Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26449 / December 19, 2025Securities and Exchange Commission v. George John Drazenovic, No. 25-cv-10492 (S.D.N.Y. filed Dec. 18, 2025)SEC Files Settled Action as to British Columbia CPA for Allegedly Furthering Multimillion Dollar Penny Stock Fraud SchemesOn December 18, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a settled action as to George John Drazenovic, a Canadian citizen and British Columbia-licensed chartered professional accountant, alleging that he recklessly furthered two penny stock rings’ pump-and-dump frauds. Drazenovic consented to the entry of a judgment without admitting or denying the SEC’s allegations.The SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that, from at least April 2010 to October 2019, Drazenovic furthered penny stock fraud schemes by at least two distinct rings, both of which were the subject of an earlier complaint filed by the SEC. According to the complaint, Drazenovic acted as a finder of mineral extraction or exploration rights, which then served as the purported marquee assets of at least ten different penny stock issuers and were central to the pump-and-dump frauds. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Drazenovic recklessly disregarded that the rings for which he was working (i) controlled and funded each issuer; (ii) were not investing, and had no intention of investing, the resources necessary to discover or extract the respective minerals beyond minimal levels; (iii) nevertheless orchestrated promotional campaigns touting each issuer’s purportedly realistic prospects of near-term abundant extraction of the respective mineral; (iv) sold their stock into the share-price and buy-side demand rises those campaigns triggered; and (v) used proceeds of those sales to pay Drazenovic.The SEC's complaint charges Drazenovic with violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, and Sections 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933. Without admitting or denying the allegations in the SEC's complaint, Drazenovic consented to the entry of a proposed final judgment, which is subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin him from violating Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act by engaging in certain conduct, and impose a conduct-based injunction that would prohibit Drazenovic from inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any security, unless that security is publicly traded and has had a market capitalization of at least $50,000,000 for 90 consecutive days. The proposed final judgment, if approved, would also permanently bar Drazenovic from participating in the offering of penny stock, bar him from serving as an officer or director of a public company for three years, and order him to pay disgorgement of $331,595, plus prejudgment interest of $51,050, and a civil penalty of $236,451. Additionally, in a related administrative proceeding, Drazenovic consented to the entry of a Commission order, which, if approved, would suspend him from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant.The SEC's investigation was conducted by Benjamin D. Brutlag, Danica A. Hames, and Zachary J. Scrima, with assistance from David Nasse and Carina Cuellar, and supervised by J. Lee Buck, II and Pei Y. Chung. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Alberta Securities Commission, the British Columbia Securities Commission, the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Denmark, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority, the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, the United Arab Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, and the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.