U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 23627 / August 25, 2016
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Edward F. Panos, et al., Civil Action No. 1:16-mc-01827 (TFH) (D.D.C. filed August 25, 2016)
SEC Seeks Court Order to Compel Edward Panos to Produce Documents and Testify in Investigation of E-Waste Systems
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has filed a subpoena enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Edward F. Panos ("Panos"), a resident of Park City, Utah; his wife, Allison Panos; and various entities controlled by them.
According to the SEC's application and supporting papers, the SEC is investigating potential violations of the federal securities laws in connection with numerous microcap and penny stock companies. The application alleges that Panos incorporated private companies with little or no operations or assets, orchestrated sham private offerings, and arranged for the companies to go public through the filing of false registration statements with the SEC. The SEC further alleges that Panos arranged reverse-mergers or other transactions through which he sold the public shells to private companies, and then participated in pump-and-dump schemes targeting those companies. This allowed him to reap significant profits by selling the shares he had acquired through his control of the public shells. The SEC's staff is investigating the involvement of other persons and entities in these and related schemes.
As part of the investigation, the SEC staff served Edward Panos, Allison Panos, and the various entities controlled by them with subpoenas in April 2016, requiring the production of certain documents and compelling their testimony. According to the application, not a single document has been produced in response to the subpoenas, nor has Panos or Allison Panos appeared for testimony. The SEC's application seeks an order compelling Panos, Allison Panos, and the various entities controlled by them to comply with the SEC's subpoenas by producing documents and appearing for testimony. The SEC is continuing its fact-finding investigation and, to date, has not concluded that any individual or entity has engaged in wrongdoing.