The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a final judgment against Tom Simeo, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Viking Energy Group, Inc., for making materially misleading disclosures in Viking's publicly filed reports regarding Viking's purported Chief Financial Officer.

According to the SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 17, 2019, Simeo created the false appearance to the public that Viking had a CFO by repeatedly affixing the CFO's signature to Viking's periodic reports and SOX certifications, when in reality, the Company had no CFO. The court granted the SEC's motion for summary judgment on September 3, 2021, finding that undisputed facts established that Simeo had made materially misleading disclosures in Viking's filings regarding the purported CFO.

The final judgment against Simeo, entered by the court on December 1, 2021, permanently enjoins Simeo from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, permanently bars Simeo from serving as an officer and director of a public company, and includes a permanent penny stock bar. The final judgment also orders Simeo to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $350,000.

The SEC is represented by Olivia Choe, with the assistance of Laura D'Allaird. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Laura D'Allaird and Jeffrey Anderson, and supervised by Peter Rosario and Yuri B. Zelinsky.

See also: Litigation Release No. 24599 (Sept. 17, 2019).