Ahmad Haris Tajyar and Eric Leo Marsoubian
SEC Charges Stock Promoter with Market Manipulation
Litigation Release No. 25167 / August 13, 2021
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ahmad Haris Tajyar and Eric Leo Marsoubian, No. 2:21-cv-06557 (C.D. Cal. filed August 13, 2021)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Ahmad Haris ("Harry") Tajyar, a resident of Porter Ranch, California and a securities fraud recidivist, with engaging in manipulative trading and a false promotional scheme.
According to the SEC's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, from February through November 2017, Tajyar engaged in manipulative trading in the stock of Atlas Technology International, Inc. ("Atlas"), including wash sales, matched orders, and marking the close. From September through November 2017, Tajyar allegedly engaged in a fraudulent campaign to promote Atlas stock in order to manipulate the price and trading volume of the stock. During his promotional campaign, Tajyar allegedly made materially false and misleading statements and omissions designed to give the impression that neutral third parties were interested in Atlas and that he was neither buying nor selling Atlas stock. Tajyar's alleged scheme allowed him to profitably sell Atlas shares he controlled in the open market.
The SEC's complaint charges Tajyar with violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1993, and Sections 9(a)(1), 9(a)(2), and 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the allegations, Tajyar consented to the entry of an order, subject to court approval, that imposes against him a penalty of $219,604, a penny stock bar, undertakings, and injunctive relief. The order also would permanently enjoin Tajyar from directly or indirectly promoting any issuer of any security, causing the promotion of any issuer of any security, deriving compensation from the promotion of any security, or soliciting any person or entity to purchase or sell any security or hold any security as his nominee, and would further require Tajyar to surrender all Atlas shares he directly or indirectly holds to a transfer agent for cancellation. The SEC's complaint also names Eric Leo Marsoubian as a relief defendant, and Marsoubian has agreed, subject to court approval, to pay disgorgement of $15,267, plus prejudgment interest thereon of $2,512.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by Laura K. Bennett, Virginia M. Rosado Desilets, Robert Nesbitt, and Jennifer M. Clark, with assistance from trial counsel Samantha Williams. The matter was supervised by David A. Becker, Jan Folena, and Carolyn M. Welshhans.