U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 21847 / February 9, 2011
COURT ENTERS DEFAULT JUDGMENTS OF PERMANENT INJUNCTION AND OTHER RELIEF AGAINST DEFENDANTS CAROL MCKEOWN, DANIEL F. RYAN AND THEIR COMPANIES DOWNSHIRE CAPITAL INC. AND MEADOW VISTA FINANCIAL CORP.
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Carol McKeown, et al., Civil Action No. 10-CV-80748- COHN (S.D. Fla.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on January 25, 2011, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida granted the Commission's Motion for Default Judgment and entered Judgments of Permanent Injunction and Other Relief against Defendants Carol McKeown and Daniel F. Ryan, a Canadian couple and two companies they control Downshire Capital Inc. and Meadow Vista Financial Corp.
The Judgments permanently enjoin each of the Defendants from future violations of 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. In addition, McKeown, Ryan and Meadow Vista are permanently enjoined from future violations of Section 17(b) of the Securities Act. The Judgments jointly and severally order McKeown, Ryan, Downshire and Meadow Vista to pay disgorgement of $3,719,543, representing ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest of $74,762.81. In addition, each of the Defendants is ordered to pay a civil penalty in an amount to be determined at a later date upon the Commission's motion. The Judgments also bar McKeown and Ryan from participating in an offering of a penny stock.
On June 23, 2010, the Commission filed its emergency complaint and obtained an emergency asset freeze against the Defendants. The complaint alleged that since at least April 2009, McKeown and Ryan touted U.S. microcap companies on www.pennystockchaser.com, Facebook and Twitter. McKeown and Ryan received millions of shares of touted companies through their two corporations, Downshire and Meadow Vista, as compensation for their touting. McKeown and Ryan sold the shares on the open market while PennyStockChaser simultaneously predicted massive price increases for the issuers, a practice known as "scalping." In addition, McKeown, Ryan, and Meadow Vista failed to disclose the full amount of the compensation they received for touting stocks on PennyStockChaser.
For more information on earlier actions in this case, see LR-21580 (June 29, 2010).