CTTD News CO2 Tech's Ricci receives 18-month se

CTTD News

CO2 Tech's Ricci receives 18-month sentence

2012-05-11 12:47 ET - Street Wire

by Mike Caswell

David Ricci, the former Pacific International Securities Inc. broker charged in Florida for the pump-and-dump of CO2 Tech Ltd., has been sentenced to 18 months in jail. The sentence was handed down in a hearing on Thursday, May 10, before Miami Judge Richard Goldberg. Mr. Ricci, 41, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud.

The charges stem from a scheme in which Mr. Ricci and others boosted CO2 Tech to $1.65 with manipulative trades while the company falsely claimed to have a relationship with Boeing. The scheme netted $7-million in illegal profits, according to prosecutors. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

Mr. Ricci was one of four people sentenced on Thursday for the promotion. Others included Michael Krome, 50, a securities lawyer from New York who wrote opinion letters that permitted the issuance of millions of free-trading shares used in the pump-and-dump. He received 34 months in jail and was ordered to forfeit $17,490.

Also sentenced were two U.S. stock promoters who participated in the scheme. Timothy Barham, 44, received 30 months in jail and was ordered to forfeit $250,000. Robert Weidenbaum, 46, received 34 months and was ordered to forfeit $360,000. They and Mr. Krome previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud.

Still awaiting sentencing is Jonathan Curshen, a recidivist securities violator who faces 21 to 27 years in jail. Prosecutors say he was a central figure in the scheme, controlling a maze of brokerage and bank accounts that allowed him to manipulate stocks while avoiding detection. Unlike the others, he pleaded not guilty, and was convicted after an 11-day jury trial.

For Mr. Ricci, the sentence is substantially lower than the five years he had accepted when he pleaded guilty. Ahead of his sentencing, he filed a memorandum in which he sought a lesser term, based on his substantial co-operation with authorities. He pointed out how he travelled at his own expense from Costa Rica (which has no extradition treaty with the U.S.) to meet with the FBI and help unwind the "convoluted layers" of bank accounts and brokerage accounts involved in the CO2 Tech manipulation.

He continued to assist and ultimately testified for the prosecution at the trial despite threats from somebody with ties to organized crime, he said. Mr. Ricci did not identify the individual who had threatened him, but said on several occasions the individual left threatening and abusive messages for him and his wife.

Mr. Ricci must surrender to authorities at 2 p.m. on Friday to begin his sentence. It is not clear where he will serve his jail term. He had asked the judge to recommend a prison near Vancouver, but such decisions are ultimately made by the Bureau of Prisons.

CO2 Tech charges

The charges against Mr. Ricci and the others are best set out in a civil complaint that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed against them on Feb. 18, 2011, in the Southern District of Florida. The complaint described how the men manipulated CO2 Tech, an OTC Bulletin Board listing, with false news and wash trades in 2007.

The scheme began when two Israeli men enlisted Mr. Curshen's Costa Rican company, Red Sea Management Ltd., to promote CO2 Tech. The Israelis (identified in the complaint as Ariav Weinbaum and Yitzchak Zigdon) had previously received 22.5 million free-trading CO2 Tech shares by converting a debenture that, according to the SEC, was obviously fraudulent. Among other things, it was signed by a person who did not become chairman of the company until four months after the date of the debenture. Despite those shortcomings, they had Mr. Krome write opinion letters that made their shares tradable.

The actual promotion began in January, 2007, when the company issued a pair of misleading news releases, one of which claimed that Boeing had taken an interest a CO2 Tech product. Around the same time, Mr. Curshen and Mr. Ricci carried out a series of wash trades that helped "jump-start" the stock, the SEC said. In one day they were able to boost the company to $1.65 from 91 cents, on volume of 12.2 million shares. They then sold a large number of shares for the two Israeli men, and generated $7-million in profits, the SEC claimed.

The SEC sought disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, appropriate civil penalties and penny stock bans. In filing the case, the SEC acknowledged the assistance of the B.C. Securities Commission, the Costa Rican Police, the Israel Securities Authority, the United Kingdom Financial Services Authority and the City of London Police.

Mr. Ricci settled the SEC charges when they were filed, agreeing to a penny stock ban and to an injunction barring future violations.

Although Mr. Ricci is a Canadian, he is married to a Costa Rican and has a home in that country. When he was in Vancouver, Mr. Ricci worked at PI for five years, leaving the firm on Nov. 17, 1999.