SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
LITIGATION RELEASE NO. 20399 / December 14, 2007
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. RONALD K. BOWEN, Civil Action No. 1:07-CV-03345-RDB (USDC)
SEC CHARGES RONALD K. BOWEN WITH DEFRAUDING INVESTORS REGARDING POTENTIAL INVESTMENT IN UNDER ARMOUR IPO
The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed charges against Ronald K. Bowen alleging that he engaged in securities fraud by lying to investors about the possibility of investing in the November 2005 initial public offering by Under Armour, Inc. Bowen raised more than $230,000 from four investors through his fraudulent scheme.
The Commission's complaint, filed in the District of Maryland, alleges that Bowen defrauded the investors by purporting to offer to sell them more than 100,000 shares of stock of Under Armour, Inc., a Baltimore based sports apparel company, in late 2005 and early 2006. Bowen falsely claimed that he had access to Under Armour stock pursuant to an initial public offering by Under Armour in November 2005. In order to induce the investors to participate, Bowen drafted and disseminated phony disclosure documents that appeared to demonstrate that Bowen's IPO stock purchase offer was legitimate. In fact, Bowen never had access to Under Armour IPO stock. In November 2006, when the investors demanded stock certificates for the stock they thought they had purchased, Bowen told them that he never had any Under Armour IPO stock to sell.
The Commission's complaint alleges that, as a result of his misconduct, Bowen violated 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. As part of this action, the Commission seeks a permanent injunction prohibiting Bowen from committing future violations of the federal securities laws, disgorgement of his ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest thereon, and civil penalties.
The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland has filed related criminal charges against Bowen.
