2014-04-23 SEC Press pdf 33 KB 5,466 chars

SEC v. JOHN W. SURGENT, Southern District of Florida (Apr. 23, 2014)

raw: In the Matter of : ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE

In the Matter of : ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE (Apr. 23, 2014)

Caption: SEC v. JOHN W. SURGENT

Exhibit of Florida-Based Stock Promoter Charged with Lying to SEC Investigators

summary

Robert Vitale, a former unregistered supervisor at Preferred Securities Group, was permanently barred by the SEC from associating with any broker-dealer after consenting to a court injunction for fraudulently selling over $3 million in unregistered Orex Gold Mines penny stock to over 100 investors through false statements, undisclosed compensation, and allowing unregistered brokers to use his name.

paragraph

Robert Vitale participated in a fraudulent offering of over $3 million in unregistered Orex Gold Mines Corporation penny stock between March and July 1999, targeting more than 100 investors. He violated federal securities laws by making false and misleading statements, failing to disclose required penny stock risk information and his own compensation, and permitting unregistered brokers to solicit investments under his name. In settlement, Vitale consented to a permanent injunction and was barred by the SEC from association with any broker-dealer under Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, with reapplication contingent on satisfying disgorgement, restitution, or arbitration obligations.

narrative

Robert Vitale, age 34, served as an unregistered representative and cold-caller supervisor at Preferred Securities Group’s Pompano Beach branch from March through June 1999, during which he participated in the fraudulent sale of over $3 million in unregistered Orex Gold Mines Corporation penny stock to more than 100 investors. He engaged in multiple securities law violations, including making false and misleading claims about Orex, failing to provide mandatory penny stock disclosures to customers, and concealing the actual compensation he and other Preferred personnel received from the transactions. Vitale also allowed unregistered brokers to use his name to solicit investments, further enabling the fraudulent scheme. On August 15, 2006, a federal court entered a final judgment by consent permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act, as well as aiding and abetting violations of Rule 15g-2, 15g-4, and 15g-5. Without admitting or denying the allegations—except as to jurisdiction and the court’s findings—Vitale consented to an SEC order permanently barring him from association with any broker-dealer under Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act. His reapplication for industry association is conditional upon satisfying any disgorgement, restitution, or arbitration awards related to the misconduct, regardless of whether the Commission has waived payment.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: unregistered-securities (95%)
Court: Southern District of Florida
Outcome: settled

Classified unregistered-securities(confidence 95%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D/S-1· recall 41% / precision 30%. detection rule →

Extracted insights

Entities 8

person administrative proceedings
person final judgment
company fraudulent offer and sale of over $3 million in unregistered orex securities
company preferred securities group, inc.
person required penny stock disclosures
person robert vitale
person sales practice abuses
person unregistered representative

Triples 15

Securities and Exchange Commission instituted administrative proceedings
Securities and Exchange Commission accepted Offer of Settlement
Robert Vitale consented to entry of Order
Robert Vitale was unregistered representative
Robert Vitale was cold-caller supervisor
Robert Vitale worked at Preferred Securities Group, Inc.
Robert Vitale participated in offering of Orex Gold Mines Corporation stock
Robert Vitale resides in Parkland, Florida
Court entered final judgment
final judgment enjoined Robert Vitale
Commission alleged fraudulent offer and sale of over $3 million in unregistered Orex securities
Robert Vitale engaged in sales practice abuses
Robert Vitale allowed unregistered brokers to use his name
Robert Vitale made false and misleading statements
Robert Vitale failed to make required penny stock disclosures

PDF

In the Matter of : ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE · Source

Text layers

Extracted body text (5,466c)


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
Before the 
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
 
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 
Release No. 54393 / August 31, 2006 
 
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING 
File No. 3-12406 
       
                                                                        :                                                                                                                                                
                                                                        :                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
In the Matter of : ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE 
         : PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION 
   ROBERT   VITALE,            :   15(b)   OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE 
       : ACT OF 1934, MAKING FINDINGS, AND 
Respondent.        : IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS 
                                          :                 
____________________________________:                      
 
 
I. 
 
 The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate and in 
the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant 
to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) against ROBERT 
VITALE (“Vitale” or “Respondent”).   
 
II. 
 
 In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer 
of Settlement (the “Offer”) which the Commission has determined to accept.  Solely for the 
purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the 
Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the 
findings herein, except as to the Commission’s jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of 
these proceedings, and the findings contained in Section III.2 below, which are admitted, 
Respondent consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant 
to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings, and Imposing 
Remedial Sanctions (“Order”), as set forth below.   
 
III. 
 
 On the basis of this Order and Respondent’s Offer, the Commission finds that: 
  
 1. ROBERT VITALE, age 34, was an unregistered representative and cold-
caller supervisor at the Pompano Beach branch office of Preferred Securities Group, Inc. 
(“Preferred”), a registered broker-dealer, from at least March through June 1999.  Vitale 

participated in the offering of Orex Gold Mines Corporation (“Orex”) stock, which is a penny 
stock.  Vitale currently resides in Parkland, Florida.    
 
 2. On August 15, 2006, a final judgment was entered by consent against 
Vitale, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the 
Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”), and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 
thereunder, and from aiding and abetting violations of Section 15(g) of the Exchange Act and 
Rules 15g-2, 15g-4, and 15g-5 thereunder, in the civil action entitled 
Securities and Exchange 
Commission v. John W. Surgent, et al., Civil Action Number 04-60493-Civ-COHN/SNOW, in 
the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  
 
 3. The Commission’s complaint alleged, among other things, that, from 
March 1999 through July 1999, Vitale participated in the fraudulent offer and sale of over $3 
million in unregistered Orex securities to over one hundred individuals.  In connection with this 
fraudulent offering, the complaint alleges that Vitale engaged in various sales practice abuses, 
allowed unregistered brokers to use his name while soliciting investments in Orex, made false 
and misleading statements about Orex, failed to make the required penny stock disclosures to 
customers concerning Orex, including but not limited to the failure to disclose the actual amount 
of compensation received by Vitale and other of Preferred’s personnel from the transactions in 
Orex stock, and otherwise engaged in a variety of conduct which operated as a fraud and deceit 
on investors.   
 
IV. 
 
 In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest 
to impose the sanctions specified in Respondent Vitale’s Offer. 
 
 Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED: 
 
 Pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, that Respondent Vitale be, and hereby is, 
barred from association with any broker or dealer.   
 
Any reapplication for association by the Respondent will be subject to the applicable 
laws and regulations governing the reentry process, and reentry may be conditioned upon a 
number of factors, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction of any or all of the following:  
(a) any disgorgement ordered against the Respondent, whether or not the Commission has fully 
or partially waived payment of such disgorgement; (b) any arbitration award related to the 
conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; (c) any self-regulatory organization  
 

arbitration award to a customer, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for 
the Commission order; and (d) any restitution order by a self-regulatory organization, whether or 
not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order. 
 
  
 By the Commission. 
 
       Nancy M. Morris 
       Secretary

OCR text (5,033c · tika · 95% conf)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Before the

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 54393 / August 31, 2006

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-12406

:
:
In the Matter of : ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE
: PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION

ROBERT VITALE, : 15(b) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
: ACT OF 1934, MAKING FINDINGS, AND

Respondent. : IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS
:

____________________________________:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) deems it appropriate and in
the public interest that public administrative proceedings be, and hereby are, instituted pursuant
to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) against ROBERT
VITALE (“Vitale” or “Respondent”).

II.

In anticipation of the institution of these proceedings, Respondent has submitted an Offer
of Settlement (the “Offer”) which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the
purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the
Commission, or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the
findings herein, except as to the Commission’s jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of
these proceedings, and the findings contained in Section III.2 below, which are admitted,
Respondent consents to the entry of this Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings Pursuant
to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Making Findings, and Imposing
Remedial Sanctions (“Order”), as set forth below.

III.

On the basis of this Order and Respondent’s Offer, the Commission finds that:

1. ROBERT VITALE, age 34, was an unregistered representative and cold-
caller supervisor at the Pompano Beach branch office of Preferred Securities Group, Inc.
(“Preferred”), a registered broker-dealer, from at least March through June 1999. Vitale

participated in the offering of Orex Gold Mines Corporation (“Orex”) stock, which is a penny
stock. Vitale currently resides in Parkland, Florida.

2. On August 15, 2006, a final judgment was entered by consent against

Vitale, permanently enjoining him from future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the
Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”), and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5
thereunder, and from aiding and abetting violations of Section 15(g) of the Exchange Act and
Rules 15g-2, 15g-4, and 15g-5 thereunder, in the civil action entitled Securities and Exchange
Commission v. John W. Surgent, et al., Civil Action Number 04-60493-Civ-COHN/SNOW, in
the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

3. The Commission’s complaint alleged, among other things, that, from

March 1999 through July 1999, Vitale participated in the fraudulent offer and sale of over $3
million in unregistered Orex securities to over one hundred individuals. In connection with this
fraudulent offering, the complaint alleges that Vitale engaged in various sales practice abuses,
allowed unregistered brokers to use his name while soliciting investments in Orex, made false
and misleading statements about Orex, failed to make the required penny stock disclosures to
customers concerning Orex, including but not limited to the failure to disclose the actual amount
of compensation received by Vitale and other of Preferred’s personnel from the transactions in
Orex stock, and otherwise engaged in a variety of conduct which operated as a fraud and deceit
on investors.

IV.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest
to impose the sanctions specified in Respondent Vitale’s Offer.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED:

Pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, that Respondent Vitale be, and hereby is,
barred from association with any broker or dealer.

Any reapplication for association by the Respondent will be subject to the applicable
laws and regulations governing the reentry process, and reentry may be conditioned upon a
number of factors, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction of any or all of the following:
(a) any disgorgement ordered against the Respondent, whether or not the Commission has fully
or partially waived payment of such disgorgement; (b) any arbitration award related to the
conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; (c) any self-regulatory organization

arbitration award to a customer, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for
the Commission order; and (d) any restitution order by a self-regulatory organization, whether or
not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order.

By the Commission.

Nancy M. Morris
Secretary

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In the Matter of : ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE
ROBERT VITALE, : 15(b) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
IV.