The Commission announced today that on December 11, 2003, securities attorney Lewis Van Stillman, a resident of Delray Beach, Florida, pled guilty to criminal charges brought by the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice. Stillman is also a defendant in a related lawsuit bought by the Commission involving an alleged pump-and-dump scheme designed to capitalize on the 2001 anthrax bio-terrorist attacks in the United States. Stillman pled guilty to one count of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy based on the same misconduct that led the Commission to take action against him.
Under his plea agreement, Stillman agreed to cooperate with Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies. Stillman also admitted to serving as 2DoTrade's legal counsel and conspiring to fraudulently promote and manipulate 2DoTrade's stock for his personal benefit. Stillman further acknowledged his role in the implementation a "lock-up" agreement that fraudulently restricted the public supply of 2DoTrade stock in order to control and manipulate its price and volume. Finally, Stillman admitted that, in filings he made with the Commission on behalf of 2DoTrade, he made false statements and material omissions that furthered the conspiracy's purpose and the scheme to defraud. Stillman faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $1 million fine at sentencing, at a date to be determined later.
The SEC acknowledges the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office and the Fraud Section of the Department of Justice's Criminal Division in prosecuting this matter. For more information see Litigation Release No. 18381 (September 30, 2003).