U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 21262A / October 27, 2009
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Rick J. Boros, Case No. 08-cv-5004 (N.D. Ill.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced that on October 26, 2009 the Honorable Judge George W. Lindberg of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted its motion and entered summary judgment against defendant Rick J. Boros (Boros), aka Vincent Kwiatkowski, finding that Boros violated the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws. Boros was permanently enjoined from violating Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. He was ordered to disgorge ill-gotten gains of $2,356,000 and pay prejudgment interest thereon of $339,348, and to pay two third-tier civil penalties of $130,000 each. The Court also entered judgment by default against North American Mining Ventures, Inc. (North American), the company that Boros controlled.
The Commission filed its complaint against Boros and North American on September 3, 2008 alleging that from May 2005 to June 2007 they raised at least $1.2 million from at least 17 investors through the fraudulent offer and sale of investments in purported gold and silver mines in Mexico. Boros and North American falsely represented, both orally and in written offering materials, that these investments involved a "minimal amount of risk" and would be "very profitable." Boros thereafter deposited investors' money into North American bank accounts where he misappropriated essentially all of the funds for his personal use. After the Commission filed its complaint, North American moved to dismiss the suit arguing in part that the Defendants would soon pay off all of the investors. Boros thereafter raised an additional $1.1 million from another set of investors, claiming he would invest their money in a "high-yield" private placement trading program that would pay off within 30 days. Boros subsequently also misappropriated these investors' funds. The Court's final judgment in favor of the Commission orders Boros to disgorge the ill-gotten gains he misappropriated from both sets of investors in the total amount of $2,356,000, plus prejudgment interest, and to pay a $130,000 civil penalty for each of his fraudulent schemes. Boros currently is in prison awaiting sentencing on unrelated federal criminal charges.