Florida man gets prison for defrauding investors of $3.3M
Source: Associated Press
Florida man gets prison for defrauding investors of $3.3M
Updated 2:55 pm, Friday, February 12, 2016
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say a Florida man has been sentenced to 3½ years in prison for defrauding over 70 investors of $3.3 million.
U.S. Attorney Robert Capers announced Friday that 54-year-old Cecil Speight, of West Palm Beach, had been sentenced late Wednesday.
Speight had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail and securities fraud. Judge Roslynn Mauskopf also ordered him to pay $3.3 million in restitution and forfeiture.
Capers says Speight carried out his fraud through his ownership of International Stock Transfer. He says Speight used investors' funds as his own, paying personal expenses including his purchase of a luxury car.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Prosecutors-Florida-man-gets-3-years-in-6826782.php
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Chief Executive Officer of International Stock Transfer Pleads Guilty in $3 Million Securities Fraud Scheme
Defendant Used His West Palm Beach-Based Firm to Steal Investors’ Money in New York and Worldwide
U.S. Attorney’s Office
July 24, 2014
Eastern District of New York
(718) 254-7000
BROOKLYN, NY—Yesterday, Cecil Franklin Speight, also known as Frank Speight, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and securities fraud for engaging in a conspiracy to steal over three million dollars from investors. Speight was the sole owner, officer, and director of International Stock Transfer (IST), a registered transfer agent with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since May 2004. According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, Speight stole at least $3.3 million from victim investors and used the proceeds to pay personal expenses, including purchases at Mercedes Benz, Nordstrom, Netflix, and Groupon. Speight faces up to five years’ imprisonment, at least $3.3 million in restitution, and a fine equal to double the investors’ losses.
The guilty plea was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and George Venizelos, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI).
“Rather than transferring capital to issuers, the defendant used the investors’ funds as his own, including financing his lifestyle in Florida. His victims, from the Eastern District of New York and around the world, were conned into buying bogus securities that were not worth the paper they were printed on. Now, he will be held to account for his crimes,” stated United States Attorney Lynch. Ms. Lynch extended her grateful appreciation to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the agency responsible for leading the government’s investigation, and thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission for its assistance.
“Speight tricked his victims into thinking their money would be invested in high-yield securities, but he was essentially using their investments to fund his own lifestyle to the tune of several million dollars. People have the right to trade in an uncorrupted market, and today’s guilty plea is proof of the FBI’s continued determination to root out those who unlawfully interfere with this process,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Venizelos.
More:
https://www.fbi.gov/newyork/press-releases/2014/chief-executive-officer-of-international-stock-transfer-pleads-guilty-in-3-million-securities-fraud-scheme
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