Wednesday, June 8, 2011

SEC Suspends Trading in 17 Penny Stocks

Yesterday the SEC suspended trading in 17 microcap stocks because of questions about the adequacy and accuracy of publicly available information about the companies, which trade in the over-the-counter (OTC) market.

The trading suspensions spring from a joint effort by SEC regional offices in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia; its Office of Market Intelligence; and its new Microcap Fraud Working Group, which uses a coordinated, proactive approach to detecting and deterring fraud involving microcap securities. The trading suspensions follow a similar suspension last week against Uniontown Energy Inc. (UTOG), based in Henderson, Nev., and Vancouver, Canada.

The 17 companies and their ticker symbols are:

  • American Pacific Rim Commerce Group (APRM), based in Citra, Fla.
  • Anywhere MD, Inc. (ANWM), based in Altascadero, Calif.
  • Calypso Wireless Inc. (CLYW), based in Houston.
  • Cascadia Investments, Inc. (CDIV), based in Tacoma, Wash.
  • CytoGenix Inc. (CYGX), based in Houston.
  • Emerging Healthcare Solutions Inc. (EHSI), based in Houston.
  • Evolution Solar Corp. (EVSO), based in The Woodlands, Texas.
  • Global Resource Corp. (GBRC), based in Morrisville, N.C.
  • Go Solar USA Inc. (GSLO), based in New Orleans.
  • Kore Nutrition Inc. (KORE), based in Henderson, Nev.
  • Laidlaw Energy Group Inc. (LLEG), based in New York City.
  • Mind Technologies Inc. (METK), based in Cardiff, Calif.
  • Montvale Technologies Inc. (IVVI), based in Montvale, N.J.
  • MSGI Security Solutions Inc. (MSGI), based in New York City.
  • Prime Star Group Inc. (PSGI), based in Las Vegas, Nev.
  • Solar Park Initiatives Inc. (SOPV), based in Ponte Verde Beach, Fla.
  • United States Oil & Gas Corp. (USOG), based in Austin, Texas.

SEC Suspends Trading in 17 Companies in Proactive Effort to Combat Microcap Stock Fraud