UPDATE: Read Adam S. Gottbetter’s plea agreement:
Delusional, self-important, penny stock lawyer Adam S. Gottbetter is having a really bad day. He was first exposed in Barron’s in a great piece by Bill Alpert in 2009. Read it here. Today, 6 years later, in an amazingly rare action against a lawyer, the SEC charged Gottbetter with a litany of offenses.
The SEC alleges that Adam S. Gottbetter orchestrated promotional campaigns that touted the prospects of microcap companies and enticed investors to buy their stock at inflated prices so he and his cohorts could sell shares they controlled and reap massive profits. Gottbetter enlisted Mitchell G. Adam and K. David Stevenson to help him in the last of three schemes he conducted in a six-year period. They repeatedly cautioned each other about the dangers of missteps that might draw law enforcement attention to the scheme, such as failing to keep secret the identities of Adam and Stevenson. The three rehearsed stories they would tell if ever questioned by law enforcement. During one meeting in New York City, Gottbetter complained about the difficulties of stock manipulation but conceded that robbing a bank was the only other way to make so much money so quickly.
Read the full release here.
And if that was not enough, Adam’s Tuesday got even worse.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey today announced criminal charges against Gottbetter, Adam, and Stevenson.
Gottbetter has been responsible for tons of filthy reverse merger deals, here is a small list:
Cur Media (CURM)
Ekso Bionics (EKSO)
Neurotrope (NTRP)
Symbid (SBID)
China TMK Battery (DFEL)
Rackwise (RACK)
Li3 Energy (LIEG)
among many more.
Amazingly enough, the Feds managed to stop the Gottbetter group in the middle of preparations for a new con, one which brings penny stock shenanigans into the new age of algorithmic trading:
They schemed to drive up the stock price for purported oil and gas exploration company HBP Energy Corp. (HBPE) through fraudulent trades generated by a trading algorithm. They then planned to launch an extensive promotional campaign featuring multiple call centers, roadshows, and a listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. After creating the false appearance of liquidity and investor interest, they planned to dump their shares of the stock on unsuspecting investors around the world. While Stevenson and Adam managed to do some small coordinated trades, the scheme was thwarted before the planned manipulation and promotion could be launched when Stevenson was arrested by the FBI.
The only question left is how long will it take the regulators to halt and delist all of his filthy scams?
Disgraceful, if true, stealing money from people who work hard to hang out in the Hamptons, buy apartments in NYC and live in multi million dollar homes in Boca Raton, FL can only be done by someone who has no conscience and is the epitome of greed and evil! Furthermore, a lawyer should know better, and be held to a higher standard and must be treated accordingly by the system.