U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23439 / December 23, 2015
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Michael J. Ling, Civil Action No. 15-cv-02179 (KSH) (CLW) (D.N.J.)
SEC Obtains Final Judgment Against Michael J. Ling
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on December 23, 2015, the Honorable Katharine S. Hayden of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey entered a final judgment against defendant Michael J. Ling. The final judgment orders that Ling pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties in the amount of $554,005.98, and imposes on Ling a permanent injunction against future violations of certain antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws.
In its Complaint, the Commission alleged that Ling, a day-trader, engaged in a manipulative trading scheme by repeatedly marking-the-close and entering into matched trades in shares of Cyberdefender Corp., a now-defunct computer software company, in order to maintain the price of the microcap company at or above $4.00 per share over the period September 2009 through June 2010. Maintaining a closing bid price at $4.00 per share or higher for 90 consecutive trading days prior to application was a prerequisite for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Ling consented to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining him from violating 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, the final judgment orders that Ling pay $454,005.98 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest thereon and a $100,000 civil penalty.
For further information, see Litigation Release No. 23224 (March 27, 2015).