SEC v. Richard Brown; Christopher Castaldo; Gerald J. Cocuzzo; Naveed A. Khan; Herschel (Tres) Knippa; Maroof Miyana, et al., No. LR-26204, Eastern District of New York (Dec. 23, 2024) — Press Release
raw: St. Julien et al.
St. Julien et al., No. LR-26204 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 23, 2024)
summary
Richard Brown secured a final judgment for deceiving ForceField Energy investors through undisclosed cash kickbacks, resulting in a $30,000 disgorgement order.
paragraph
Richard Brown was charged with violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. He participated in a scheme starting in 2014 to deceive investors by recommending ForceField Energy shares while receiving undisclosed cash kickbacks. The court ordered Brown to disgorge $30,000 in ill-gotten gains and interest, which was satisfied via a parallel criminal restitution order.
narrative
The SEC obtained a final judgment against Richard Brown for his role in a fraud scheme involving ForceField Energy Inc. that began in 2014. Brown deceived investors by recommending and purchasing ForceField Energy stock in their accounts without disclosing that he was receiving cash kickbacks. He faced charges for violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including Rule 10b-5. The court ordered Brown to be permanently enjoined from future violations and to disgorge $30,000 in ill-gotten gains plus interest. This financial obligation was satisfied through a restitution order in a parallel criminal proceeding, United States v. Mitchell, et al. This judgment concludes the SEC's litigation, following previous injunctions against seven other defendants in 2016 and 2017.
Classified broker-dealer-fraud(confidence 100%). EDGAR detection: forms Form D· recall 29% / precision 9%. detection rule →
Parties
Securities and Exchange CommissionRichard BrownChristopher CastaldoGerald J. CocuzzoNaveed A. KhanHerschel (Tres) KnippaMaroof MiyanaPranav V. PatelLouis F. PetrossiRichard St. Julien
Keywords
forcefield energybrownsecurities exchangefinal againstsecuritiesagainstjulienexchangeforcefieldenergysec'sexchange commissionentered finalbuying sharesshares forcefield
Exhibits & Attached Documents (1)
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $30K $30,000 $10K–$100K
Entities 16
- person richard brown ×2
- company a scheme to deceive investors into buying shares of forcefield energy inc.
- person bari r. nadworny
- person Christopher Castaldo
- person daniel loss
- organization ForceField Energy Inc
- person Gerald J. Cocuzzo
- person Herschel (Tres) Knippa
- person lindsay s. moilanen
- person Louis F. Petrossi
- person Maroof Miyana
- person Naveed a. Khan
- person Pranav v. Patel
- person Richard St. Julien
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- person sheldon l. pollock
Triples 7
- Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final judgment Richard Brown
- Richard Brown was involved in a scheme to deceive investors into buying shares of ForceField Energy Inc.
- Richard Brown was paid cash kickbacks in exchange for recommending and buying shares of ForceField Energy stock
- Richard Brown violated 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
- Richard Brown agreed to disgorge $30,000 in ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest
- United States Of America filed criminal proceeding United States v. Mitchell, et al., Crim. No. 16-234 (BMC) (E.D.N.Y.)
- Securities And Exchange Commission entered injunctions against Christopher Castaldo, Gerald J. Cocuzzo, Naveed a. Khan, Herschel (Tres) Knippa, Maroof Miyana, Pranav v. Patel, Louis F. Petrossi, and Richard St. Julien
PDF (from attached: complaint)
Text layers
Extracted body text (1,953c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26204 / December 23, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. St. Julien et al., No. 16-civ-2193 (E.D.N.Y. filed May 3, 2016) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against ForceField Energy Defendant for Role in Offering Fraud On December 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against Richard Brown, enjoining him from violating certain provisions of the federal securities laws. According to the SEC's complaint, starting in 2014, Brown was involved in a scheme to deceive investors into buying shares of ForceField Energy Inc. ("ForceField Energy"). The SEC alleges that Brown was paid cash kickbacks in exchange for recommending and buying shares of ForceField Energy stock in his customers' accounts without disclosing to customers that he was being paid cash kickbacks. The SEC's complaint charged Brown 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. On December 23, 2024, the Court entered a final judgment against Brown by consent in which he agreed to be permanently enjoined from violations of the charged provisions and to disgorge $30,000 in ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest thereon, the payment of which was deemed satisfied by the restitution order in the parallel criminal proceeding, United States v. Mitchell, et al., Crim. No. 16-234 (BMC) (E.D.N.Y.). In 2016 and 2017, the Court previously entered injunctions against Christopher Castaldo, Gerald J. Cocuzzo, Naveed A. Khan, Herschel (Tres) Knippa, Maroof Miyana, Pranav V. Patel, Louis F. Petrossi, and Richard St. Julien. Today's judgment against Brown concludes the SEC's litigation in this matter. The SEC's litigation was handled by Bari R. Nadworny and Lindsay S. Moilanen of the New York Regional Office and was supervised by Sheldon L. Pollock and Daniel Loss.OCR text (1,953c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26204 / December 23, 2024 Securities and Exchange Commission v. St. Julien et al., No. 16-civ-2193 (E.D.N.Y. filed May 3, 2016) SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against ForceField Energy Defendant for Role in Offering Fraud On December 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against Richard Brown, enjoining him from violating certain provisions of the federal securities laws. According to the SEC's complaint, starting in 2014, Brown was involved in a scheme to deceive investors into buying shares of ForceField Energy Inc. ("ForceField Energy"). The SEC alleges that Brown was paid cash kickbacks in exchange for recommending and buying shares of ForceField Energy stock in his customers' accounts without disclosing to customers that he was being paid cash kickbacks. The SEC's complaint charged Brown 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. On December 23, 2024, the Court entered a final judgment against Brown by consent in which he agreed to be permanently enjoined from violations of the charged provisions and to disgorge $30,000 in ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest thereon, the payment of which was deemed satisfied by the restitution order in the parallel criminal proceeding, United States v. Mitchell, et al., Crim. No. 16-234 (BMC) (E.D.N.Y.). In 2016 and 2017, the Court previously entered injunctions against Christopher Castaldo, Gerald J. Cocuzzo, Naveed A. Khan, Herschel (Tres) Knippa, Maroof Miyana, Pranav V. Patel, Louis F. Petrossi, and Richard St. Julien. Today's judgment against Brown concludes the SEC's litigation in this matter. The SEC's litigation was handled by Bari R. Nadworny and Lindsay S. Moilanen of the New York Regional Office and was supervised by Sheldon L. Pollock and Daniel Loss.