The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Matthew Bell for securities fraud, alleging he was involved in a massive pump-and-dump stock manipulation scheme. Mr. Bell was also indicted by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York on similar charges.
The penny stock manipulation scheme involved a few different stocks, including CodeSmart Holdings, Cubed, Inc., StarStream Entertainment, Inc., and the Staffing Group, LTD. The indictment alleges that in an effort to “pump” the price of CodeSmart Holdings stock, Matthew Bell purchased it for his customers in their accounts, in certain cases without the customers’ knowledge and consent, and without providing them the required disclosure documents.
Matthew Bell has a significant history of investor-customer complaints per FINRA reporting documents. The complaints allege claims of unsuitable investment recommendations, breach of fiduciary duty, misrepresentations and unauthorized trading. Many of the complaints concern the sale of private placement investments, including California Proton Treatment Center, Maryland Proton Center, Virtus Student Housing, LP and Pamaz Scientific. Recent complaints, however, have concerned speculative penny stocks, including those previously mentioned.
If you sustained investment losses in your WFG Investments brokerage account, call attorney David Chase at the Law Firm of David R. Chase, P.A., for a free and confidential consultation.
Mr. Chase, formerly a prosecutor for the SEC with over 20 years of investment fraud experience, aggressively represents investors nationwide against securities brokerage firms in claims to recover investment losses.
You can contact Mr. Chase toll-free directly at 800-760-0912, via e-mail at: david@davidchaselaw.com, or you may visit the firm’s website at: davidchaselaw.com.
