SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
LITIGATION RELEASE No. 16673 / August 31, 2000
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. EDWARD A. DURANTE, ET AL., No. C99-3690 (SBA)(N.D. Cal.)
FORMER PRESIDENT OF PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANY SETTLES WITH SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") announced that on May 12, 2000, the Northern District Court of California entered judgment against Thomas K. Williams. ("Williams"), the former President of American Telecommunications Standards, Inc. ("ATSI"), once a publicly traded company, and President of SynCom International, Inc. ("SynCom"), for participating in the unlawful distribution of securities without a valid registration statement on file, a violation of Section 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933. Williams resides near Boulder, Colorado.
The Commission alleged that in February 1998, Williams agreed to transfer 2.1 million shares of ATSI stock while an "affiliate" and "control person" of ATSI. At the time, no valid registration statement was on file with the Commission. Later, these shares were sold on the market at a profit in a complex market manipulation scheme. As a result of the settlement, Williams consented to pay a civil penalty of $5,000 and an order permanently enjoining him from future violations of Section 5(a) and 5(c) or the Securities Act of 1933.
This settlement is part of the Commission's market manipulation case involving fourteen other defendants, which was filed as part of the Commission's microcap fraud sweep. The case remains pending. Williams consented to the judgment without admitting or denying the allegations contained in the Complaint.
[SEC v. Durante, Civil Action No. C 99-3690 (SBA) (N.D. Cal., Aug. 2, 1999)] (LR-16237)