SEC Obtains Judgments Against Three Individuals for Participating in Multi-Million Dollar International Fraud Scheme

Litigation Release No. 25437 / July 6, 2022

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Carrillo et al.;, ivil Action No. 21-cv-11272 (D. Mass. filed August 4, 2021)

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced judgments against three defendants charged with participating in a fraudulent scheme to sell shares of microcap company Aureus Inc. The defendants' scheme involving Aureus generated over $5 million in fraudulent trading proceeds. The final judgment against Amar Bahadoorsingh, last of Canada, ordered him to pay over $700,000, and the judgments against Jamie Wilson, of the United Kingdom, and Justin Wall, of the United Kingdom, ordered them to pay $31,280 and $9,468 respectively. The Court also entered judgments against two relief defendants, the Martha Y. Jimenez Trust and the Charles A. Carrillo Trust (collectively the "Trusts"), which received proceeds of fraud.

The SEC's complaint alleges that, in at least 2016, Bahadoorsingh, Wilson, and Wall, working with defendant Luis Carrillo, concealed the fact that they controlled the securities of Aureus, Inc., whose stock was publicly traded in the U.S. securities markets. According to the complaint, Bahadoorsingh and Carrillo secretly sold millions of Aureus shares in violation of the securities laws after organizing promotional campaigns to encourage investors to buy the stock. Wilson and Wall allegedly worked with Bahadoorsingh and others to gain control of Aureus' securities and fraudulently sell them. According to the complaint, Wilson and Wall used false documents to get the company's shares deposited for sale in brokerage accounts. The complaint alleges that, as a result of these actions, what appeared to be ordinary trading by unaffiliated investors was actually a massive dump of shares orchestrated by Carrillo, Bahadoorsingh, Wall, and Wilson, who were seeking to profit at the expense of retail investors.

On June 30, 2022, the Court granted the SEC's motion for default judgment against Bahadoorsingh, permanently enjoining him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 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, the registration provisions of Section 5 of the Securities Act, and the ownership reporting provisions of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act. The Court also imposed a penny stock bar on Bahadoorsingh and ordered him to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains of $572,002, $149,299 in prejudgment interest thereon, and a civil penalty of $207,183.

The Court's judgment against Wilson, also entered on June 30, 2022, permanently enjoined him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and the ownership reporting provisions of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act. The Court also imposed a penny stock bar on Wilson and ordered him to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains of $28,107, and $3,173 in prejudgment interest thereon. The Court may determine a civil penalty amount at a later date.

The Court's judgment against Wall, entered on February 18, 2022, permanently enjoined him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and the ownership reporting provisions of Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act. The Court also imposed a penny stock bar on Wilson and ordered him to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains of $7,870, and $1,597 in prejudgment interest thereon. The Court may determine a civil penalty amount at a later date.

The Court's judgment against the Trusts, entered on November 18, 2021, ordered the Trusts, jointly and severally, to pay disgorgement of ill-gotten gains of $565,000, and $79,455 in prejudgment interest thereon.

The SEC's ongoing case against defendant Luis Carrillo and relief defendant Haydee Yolanda Sanchez Diaz Monge is being handled by Kathleen Shields, Susan Anderson, Trevor Donelan and Amy Gwiazda in the Boston Regional Office. Criminal charges against Luis Carrillo brought by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts also remain pending.