U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23489 / March 16, 2016
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Cary Lee Peterson, et al., Civil Action No. 2:16-cv-01428-WHW-CLW (D.N.J., filed March 14, 2016)
SEC Charges CEO of Microcap Company for Touting Bogus "Clean Energy" Contracts with Foreign Governments
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a microcap company CEO for falsely claiming to have a lucrative relationship with the United Nations and billions of dollars in clean energy contracts with foreign governments.
The SEC alleges that RVPlus Inc. CEO Cary Lee Peterson made bogus claims in the company's public filings and in statements to private investors, and that he and RVPlus participated in an unlawful distribution of RVPlus's stock. The SEC temporarily suspended trading in RVPlus securities in July 2013, citing "material deficiencies" in the company's financial statements.
According to the SEC's complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey:
- Starting in May 2012, Peterson filed periodic reports with the SEC claiming that RVPlus had a lucrative relationship with the United Nations and clean energy agreements with governmental bodies in Nigeria, Haiti, and Liberia worth $2.8 billion. RVPlus had no relationship with the U.N. and the contracts were fictitious.
- Peterson repeatedly claimed in RVPlus's SEC filings that RVPlus had issued invoices and was owed millions of dollars in accounts receivable on the bogus contracts.
- RVPlus and Peterson gained control of more than 90 percent of RVPlus's free trading shares and gave them to individuals who unlawfully sold them into the market.
The SEC's complaint charges Peterson and RVPlus with violating the antifraud provisions of the securities laws, including Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5 and the registration provisions of the securities laws, Section 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act. The SEC's complaint further charges Peterson with aiding and abetting RVPlus's violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Exchange Act Rule 10b5.
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey announced criminal charges against Peterson.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by Megan R. Genet, Bennett Ellenbogen, Jordan Baker and Adam Grace of the New York office. The SEC's litigation will be conducted by Preethi Krishnamurthy and Megan R. Genet and supervised by Lara Shalov Mehraban. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and the British Columbia Securities Commission.
