SEC v. James B. Panther, Jr., No. LR-26253, Southern District of New York (Feb. 21, 2025) — Press Release

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26253 / February 21, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Francisco Abellan Villena, et al., No. 18-cv-4309 (PKC) (S.D.N.Y. filed May 15, 2018) SEC Granted Summary Judgment and Obtains Final Judgment Against Individual in $33 Million Fraud Scheme On January 24, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the SEC’s motion for summary judgment and ordered final judgment against James B. Panther, Jr. for his role in a fraudulent scheme to secretly control and inflate the price of shares of a microcap issuer, and then make millions by selling shares to unwitting investors. This finding by the Court resolves all claims arising out of the SEC’s complaint, filed on May 15, 2018, which alleged that co-defendant Francisco Abellan Villena (“Abellan”) masterminded a scheme where, aided by Panther and two other co-defendants, he hid his ownership and sales of Biozoom, Inc. shares by using sham purchase agreements, a network of nominees, anonymizing techniques, and other deceptive practices. Panther also helped facilitate Abellan’s use of alleged manipulative trading techniques and carry out an extensive promotional campaign to artificially inflate Biozoom’s share price. The alleged scheme culminated in the defendants’ illegal sales of Biozoom stock, which netted over $33 million in unlawful proceeds. In granting the SEC’s motion for summary judgment and entering final judgment against Panther, the Court permanently enjoined Panther from violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws, ordered him to pay a $100,000 civil penalty, and imposed a ten-year bar on participating in the offering of a penny stock. The SEC also previously obtained final judgments against the other three defendants. On November 27, 2019, the Court entered a default judgment against defendant Faiyaz Dean, a Canadian lawyer, in which he was ordered to pay a $160,000 civil money penalty. On September 11, 2020, the Court entered a default judgment against Abellan, permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws and ordering him to pay a $15 million civil penalty. The SEC also obtained final judgment against Guillermo Ciupak, enjoining him from violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. In a prior action in 2013, the SEC obtained a court order freezing proceeds from the unlawful Biozoom sales. It subsequently obtained a default judgment and established a fair fund, which has returned over $16 million to harmed investors. The SEC previously obtained a judgment against Abellan for his role in another market manipulation scheme. The SEC’s litigation was led by Daniel Maher and supervised by James Connor. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jennie B. Krasner, under the supervision of Deborah A. Tarasevich.

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26253 / February 21, 2025 Securities and Exchange Commission v. Francisco Abellan Villena, et al., No. 18-cv-4309 (PKC) (S.D.N.Y. filed May 15, 2018) SEC Granted Summary Judgment and Obtains Final Judgment Against Individual in $33 Million Fraud Scheme On January 24, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granted the SEC’s motion for summary judgment and ordered final judgment against James B. Panther, Jr. for his role in a fraudulent scheme to secretly control and inflate the price of shares of a microcap issuer, and then make millions by selling shares to unwitting investors. This finding by the Court resolves all claims arising out of the SEC’s complaint, filed on May 15, 2018, which alleged that co-defendant Francisco Abellan Villena (“Abellan”) masterminded a scheme where, aided by Panther and two other co-defendants, he hid his ownership and sales of Biozoom, Inc. shares by using sham purchase agreements, a network of nominees, anonymizing techniques, and other deceptive practices. Panther also helped facilitate Abellan’s use of alleged manipulative trading techniques and carry out an extensive promotional campaign to artificially inflate Biozoom’s share price. The alleged scheme culminated in the defendants’ illegal sales of Biozoom stock, which netted over $33 million in unlawful proceeds. In granting the SEC’s motion for summary judgment and entering final judgment against Panther, the Court permanently enjoined Panther from violations of the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws, ordered him to pay a $100,000 civil penalty, and imposed a ten-year bar on participating in the offering of a penny stock. The SEC also previously obtained final judgments against the other three defendants. On November 27, 2019, the Court entered a default judgment against defendant Faiyaz Dean, a Canadian lawyer, in which he was ordered to pay a $160,000 civil money penalty. On September 11, 2020, the Court entered a default judgment against Abellan, permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws and ordering him to pay a $15 million civil penalty. The SEC also obtained final judgment against Guillermo Ciupak, enjoining him from violating the antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws. In a prior action in 2013, the SEC obtained a court order freezing proceeds from the unlawful Biozoom sales. It subsequently obtained a default judgment and established a fair fund, which has returned over $16 million to harmed investors. The SEC previously obtained a judgment against Abellan for his role in another market manipulation scheme. The SEC’s litigation was led by Daniel Maher and supervised by James Connor. The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jennie B. Krasner, under the supervision of Deborah A. Tarasevich.