SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 16625 / July 13, 2000
Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 1286 / July 13, 2000
SEC FILES COMPLAINT AND OBTAINS INJUNCTION AGAINST MICHAEL A. PUHR, FORMER CEO OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN INTERNATIONAL, LTD.
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Michael A. Puhr, No. 00-2387-CIV-KING (S.D. Fla.) (filed July 6, 2000).
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that on July 6, 2000, it filed a civil complaint against Michael A. Puhr of Westminster, Colorado, in connection with fraudulent statements made in certain press releases disseminated to the public, and filings made with the SEC, by Rocky Mountain International, Ltd. ("Rocky Mountain"). At the time of these false statements, Puhr was the chief executive officer and president of Rocky Mountain. Simultaneously with the filing of the complaint, Puhr agreed to settle the charges against him by consenting to the entry of permanent injunctive relief, without admitting or denying the allegations in the complaint.
In its complaint, the SEC alleges that in October 1997, Rocky Mountain filed false and misleading financial statements with the SEC and issued false press releases that were disseminated to the investing public. In particular, Rocky Mountain filed a Form 8-K and issued a press release that falsely claimed that Rocky Mountain's assets were worth more than $21 million. In contrast, the Company's assets were worth, at most, a third of that value. In addition, the press releases also failed to disclose material information about Rocky Mountain's garment manufacturing operations.
The complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief and civil money penalties from Puhr based on allegations that he violated Sections 10(b), 13(a), 13(b)(2) and 13(b)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20 and 13a-11 thereunder. Simultaneously with the filing of the SEC's complaint, Puhr agreed to settle the action against him by consenting, without admitting or denying any of the allegations contained in the SEC's complaint, to the entry of a permanent injunction against future violations of the sections and rules of the federal securities laws referred to above. The SEC will not seek civil penalties from Puhr due to his demonstrated financial inability to pay. United States District Judge James Lawrence King entered the permanent injunction against Puhr on July 10, 2000.
Previously, the Commission suspended trading in Rocky Mountain's stock for a ten-day period effective December 22, 1997. (See Securities Exchange Act No. 34-39471).