U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25951 / March 20, 2024
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Bernard Findley and Halitron, Inc., No. 3:20-cv-0397 (SRU) (D. Conn. filed March 25, 2020)
SEC Obtains Judgments Against Microcap Company and its CEO Following Trial
On March 20, 2024, a federal district court in Connecticut entered final judgments against Connecticut-based penny stock company Halitron, Inc. and its CEO, Bernard Findley. The judgments follow a trial and a January 17, 2023 jury verdict finding Halitron and Findley liable for fraudulently issuing false and misleading press releases in an effort to prop up the value of Halitron’s stock and thereby attract financiers who provided funding to Halitron in exchange for discounted shares of Halitron stock. Among other things, the judgments require the defendants to variously pay a total of over $441,000.
The judgments permanently enjoin Halitron and Findley from violations of 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. The Court also ordered Halitron and Findley to jointly and severally pay $141,000 in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, along with $50,024.16 in prejudgment interest, for a total disgorgement and prejudgment interest amount of $191,024.16. In addition, the Court barred Findley from serving as an officer or director of any SEC-reporting company and from participating in the offering of a penny stock for a period of four years and ordered him to pay a $250,000 civil penalty.
The SEC's litigation was handled by Alfred Day, Susan Cooke, Xinyue Angela Lin, and Alyssa DiPaolo of the Boston Regional Office.