U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 26003 / May 13, 2024
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Michael M. Beck, a/k/a @BigMoneyMike6, and Relief Defendant Helen P. Robinson, No. 2:22-cv-00812 (C.D. Cal., filed February 7, 2022)
SEC Obtains Final Judgments Against Michael M. Beck and his mother, Helen P. Robinson, in Connection with a Penny Stock Fraud
On April 17, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained final judgments against Michael M. Beck, who the SEC charged with an alleged penny stock fraud, and his mother, relief defendant Helen Robinson.
The complaint alleged that Beck engaged in fraud with respect to eight different penny stocks - recommending the purchase of the stock without disclosing his intent to sell the stock, and then selling it at inflated prices to generate profits. Beck repeatedly purchased blocks of penny stock shares and then tweeted that he would soon be issuing a new stock recommendation to his millions of followers and the public at large. According to the complaint, Beck’s tweets encouraged readers to join "TeamBillionaire" so they could receive the recommendation by email. The complaint further alleged that, a few days before Beck publicly tweeted a recommendation, he typically emailed it to TeamBillionaire members or had third parties post favorable commentary about the stock on investor message boards. Beck then typically began to sell his shares, and shares owned by his mother, relief defendant Helen Robinson, before tweeting the recommendation publicly and typically sold additional shares after tweeting positively about the stock. The complaint alleged that Beck failed to disclose his plans to sell, or his ongoing selling, of shares in any of the tweets, emails, or message board posts.
The Court entered a final judgment permanently enjoining Beck from violating the antifraud provisions of 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. Beck was also barred for five years, following the date of entry of the Final Judgment, from participating in an offering of penny stocks, including engaging in activities with a broker, dealer, or issuer for purposes of issuing, trading, or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of any penny stock. Beck was also ordered to pay, on a joint-and-several basis with relief defendant Helen Robinson, disgorgement of $572,270.00, with prejudgment interest in the amount of $112,062.32. Beck was also ordered to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $230,464.00. Robinson was ordered to pay, on a joint-and-several basis with Beck, disgorgement in the amount of $386,732.00, with prejudgment interest in the amount of $75,730.14.
The SEC's litigation was led by Ruth C. Pinkel and Daniel Lim and supervised by Douglas M. Miller. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Roberto Tercero and supervised by Marc Blau of the Los Angeles Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.