Carolina Development Company, Lambert Vander Tuig, and Jonathan Carman

On February 16, 2006, the SEC obtained temporary restraining orders and asset freezes against The Carolina Development Company, Lambert Vander Tuig and Jonathan Carman in connection with an offering of stock in the Carolina Company. The SEC alleged that the defendants fraudulently obtained investments of at least $30 million from the unregistered offering of the Carolina Company stock.

According to the complaint, the defendants allegedly made false claims to investor and omitted important facts. For example, the company claimed it would soon be going public and the stock purchased by investors would likely trade at a price many times the offering price when in reality the company had not taken any substantial steps to register its stock. The SEC also alleged that the defendants represented that shares purchased would be immediately available for trading as soon as the company went public when in fact the shares actually issued were restricted and could not be sold for at least one year. In addition, the SEC claimed that the defendants represented Vander Tuig as Lambert Vander Tag (and various other aliases) and failed to disclose that he was previously enjoined in an SEC enforcement action and subsequently barred from association with any broker or dealer.

For more information about the SEC's action, you can read Litigation Release No. 19569 (Feb. 17, 2006).

The Court also appointed Thomas Seaman as Receiver. For the latest information about the Receivership, you can visit the Receiver's website.

http://www.sec.gov/divisions/enforce/claims/carolinadevelopment.htm