U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 20960 / March 18, 2009
SEC v. Sky Way Global LLC (dba Sky Way Global, Inc.), Brent C. Kovar, Glenn A. Kovar, James S. Kent, Kenneth Bruce Baker (aka Bruce Baker), and Kenneth R. Kramer, Civil Action No. 08: 09-CV-455-T23/TBM (M.D. Fla., filed March 13, 2009)
SEC Brings Civil Action Against Purported Anti-Terrorism Company, Its Principals and Others for Pump-and-Dump Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) announced that on March 13, 2009 it filed a civil injunctive action against Sky Way Global LLC (aka Sky Way Global, Inc.) (Global), an internet service provider and purported anti-terrorism company based in Tampa, Florida, and its principals Brent C. Kovar, Glenn A. Kovar, and James S. Kent, who allegedly defrauded investors through an unregistered fraudulent offering of Global stock and orchestrated a pump-and-dump scheme of SkyWay Communications Holding Corp. (SkyWay). The Commission also charged Kenneth Bruce Baker and Kenneth R. Kramer, alleged unregistered broker-dealers, who found investors for SkyWay and sold SkyWay stock.
The Commission's complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, alleges that from at least February 2002 until December 2005, Global, Brent Kovar (Global's senior vice president and president), Kent (Global's director of business operations and CEO), and Glenn Kovar (Global's manager and member) raised approximately $1.38 million from 18 investors by offering and selling unregistered shares of Global's stock. In connection with the offer and sale of Global's securities, Global, Brent Kovar, Kent, and Glenn Kovar made numerous material misrepresentations and omissions to investors through marketing and offering materials, including, among other things, that Global possessed a nationwide network of broadcasting towers and anti-terrorism technology that would allow the government to monitor and, if necessary, take control of an airplane. These claims were patently false because Global had no towers and no technology to monitor and take control of airplanes.
The complaint further alleges that after a Global subsidiary merged with a public shell to become SkyWay (in June 2003) and Global transferred its purported technology and assets to SkyWay, Brent Kovar and Kent, with Glenn Kovar's assistance, carried out a pump-and-dump scheme of SkyWay stock. From August 2003 to May 2005, Brent Kovar (SkyWay's President) and Kent (SkyWay's CEO and CFO), issued false press releases to increase SkyWay's stock price and trading volume. The press releases stated, among other things, that SkyWay had a nationwide network of broadcasting towers, and the same purported anti-terrorism technology that Global had claimed to have. The press releases also claimed SkyWay had technology for providing Internet services on airplanes. During the same period, Global, Brent and Glenn Kovar, and Kent dumped 76.65 million shares of their SkyWay stock on the unsuspecting public and made more than $12 million in profits. Brent Kovar and Kent also engaged in other misconduct in connection with the SkyWay pump-and-dump scheme by improperly issuing S-8 stock to promoters Baker and Kramer in exchange for finding investors and selling SkyWay stock.
The Commission's complaint charges Global, Brent Kovar, Kent, and Glenn Kovar with violating the registration and anti-fraud provisions of the federal securities laws, specifically, Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and further charges Glenn Kovar with aiding and abetting SkyWay's violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5. The Complaint further charges Brent Kovar and Kent with aiding and abetting SkyWay's violations of disclosure provisions under Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20 and 13a-11; and charges Baker and Kramer with violating the broker-dealer registration provisions under Section 15(b) of the Exchange Act. The Commission's complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief against all defendants, enjoining them from future violations of the provisions charged, and an order requiring them to disgorge their ill-gotten gains, with prejudgment interest, and imposing civil penalties against each of them; imposing a penny stock bar against the individual defendants, and an officer and director bar against Brent Kovar and Kent.
