U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 20613 / June 11, 2008
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ronald K. Bowen, Civil Action No. RDB 07-3345 (U.S.D.C. District of Maryland, Baltimore Division)
Final Judgment Entered Against Ronald K. Bowen for Defrauding Investors Regarding Potential Investment in Under Armour IPO
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on June 4, 2008, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland entered a final judgment against Ronald K. Bowen for violating the anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws by lying to investors about the possibility of investing in the November 2005 initial public offering by Under Armour, Inc. Bowen raised more than $230,000 from four investors through his fraudulent scheme.
The Commission's complaint alleged that Bowen defrauded the investors by purporting to offer to sell them more than 100,000 shares of stock of Under Armour, Inc., a Baltimore based sports apparel company, in late 2005 and early 2006. Bowen falsely claimed that he had access to Under Armour stock pursuant to an initial public offering by Under Armour in November 2005. In order to induce the investors to participate, Bowen drafted and disseminated phony disclosure documents that appeared to demonstrate that Bowen's IPO stock purchase offer was legitimate. In fact, Bowen never had access to Under Armour IPO stock.
The final judgment against Bowen enjoins him from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The judgment also orders Bowen to pay $272,840 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and a $233,300 penalty.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland filed related criminal charges against Bowen on December 13, 2007, which are pending.
For further information, see Litigation Release No. 20399 (December 14, 2007)