U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26005 / May 14, 2024
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jerry D. Guess, et al, No. 8:24-cv-00172 (D. Neb. filed May 9, 2024)
SEC Charges Convicted Felon for Offering Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Jerry D. Guess, a convicted felon, and his company, Guess & Co. Corporation, Inc. ("Guess & Co."), alleging that the Defendants conducted a fraudulent offering of Guess & Co. stock.
According to the SEC's complaint, from at least June 2021 through April 2022, the Defendants made multiple false and misleading statements of material facts to at least 57 prospective investors in at least 12 states and one foreign country to solicit them to invest in Guess & Co. stock. The complaint alleges that the Defendants falsely represented to prospective investors that Guess & Co. was a diversified energy, health care, technology, and real estate company that had earned millions of dollars in revenue from its business operations in 2019 to 2021, and they misleadingly projected the Company would earn billions in revenue in both 2021 and 2022. However, as alleged in the complaint, during the period of the offering, Guess & Co. had no operations, customers, or business revenue other than the sales of 19 computers to electronics re-sale shops for $14,650.
The SEC's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, charges the Defendants with violating the antifraud provisions of Sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933. The SEC seeks permanent and conduct-based injunctions and civil penalties against the Defendants and a permanent officer-and-director bar against Guess.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by James G. O'Keefe and Wilburn Saylor and supervised by Steven L. Klawans of the Chicago Regional Office. The litigation is being supervised by John E. Birkenheier.