SEC Charges Online Stock Promotion Firm and its Owner for Failing to Disclose Touting Compensation

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-20379

June 30, 2021 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Reuben Robert Goldman and his online stock promotion firm, Two Triangle Consulting Group LLC, which does business under the name Goldman Small Cap Research, for failing to disclose that they had been paid to create and distribute tweets promoting the securities of ten issuers.

According to the SEC’s order, Goldman Small Cap Research produces and distributes promotional materials about microcap issuers. The SEC’s order finds that from April 2016 until March 2021, Goldman and Goldman Small Cap Research failed to disclose that they had been compensated by issuers for twenty-nine promotional tweets that they published through Goldman Small Cap Research’s Twitter account, @GoldmanSmallCap. According to the order, Goldman and Goldman Small Cap Research were paid $39,931 to promote the securities identified in the tweets.

The SEC’s order finds that Goldman and Goldman Small Cap Research violated the anti-touting provision of Section 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933. The SEC’s order requires Goldman and Goldman Small Cap Research to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations or future violations of this provision, to comply with certain compliance-related undertakings, and to pay disgorgement of $39,931, prejudgment interest of $3,720.82, and a civil penalty of $39,931. Goldman and Goldman Small Cap Research consented to entry of the order without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Eric J. Day, Polly A. Atkinson, and Kerry M. Matticks and was supervised by Danielle R. Voorhees, Jason J. Burt, and Kurt L. Gottschall of the SEC’s Denver Regional Office.