U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23912 / August 18, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Arista Power, Inc., et al., No. 17-CV-4598 (S.D.N.Y. filed June 19, 2017)
SEC Obtains Penalty and Bars in Consent Judgment Against CEO Charged with Scheme To Disguise Nature of Company Financing
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a final consent judgment against the CEO of the developer of wind turbines, whom the agency charged earlier this year with engaging in a scheme to disguise the nature of the public company's financing amid financial difficulties.
The final judgment, entered on August 15, 2017 by the Honorable Gregory H. Woods of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, orders William A. Schmitz, the former Chief Executive Officer of Arista Power, Inc., to pay a civil penalty of $80,000 and imposes three-year officer-and-director and penny-stock bars. The judgment also enjoins Schmitz from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. Schmitz consented to entry of the final judgment without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations.
The SEC's litigation, which is led by Jack Kaufman and Howard Kim, is continuing.