U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Litigation Release No. 19486 / December 6, 2005
United States of America v. Barry J. Goodman (United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts Criminal No. 1:05-cr-10038-DPW)
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Barry J. Goodman et al. (United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts C.A. No. 01 CV 10163-JLT - Filed January 30, 2001)
INVESTMENT ADVISER SENTENCED TO 24 MONTHS INCARCERATION
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission"), announced today that on December 5, 2005, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts imposed a sentence of twenty-four months incarceration on Barry J. Goodman for orchestrating an offering fraud that resulted in two investors losing $700,000. In September 2005, Goodman plead guilty to an eleven count indictment charging him with three counts of investment adviser fraud, three counts of securities fraud, and five counts of wire fraud that was being prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office in Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to the term of incarceration, Goodman was ordered to pay restitution of $800,000 and sentenced to two years supervised release.
At the September 2005 plea hearing, the prosecutor told the court that between February and August 2000, Goodman obtained and then misappropriated $700,000 from two investors through two fraudulent investment schemes offered through his investment advisory business, New England Capital Advisory Group, LLC. Goodman defrauded a third investor out of $100,000, which conduct was not charged in the indictment but did form part of the basis of the restitution order.
The criminal indictment followed the Commission's civil case against Goodman related to the same events. On September 29, 2004, the District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered a final judgment against Goodman in the Commission's civil injunctive action finding that he violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act and imposing a $220,000 civil penalty.
For further information, please see: Litigation Release No. 16875 (January 30, 2001); Investment Advisers Act of 1949 Release No. 2313 (October 13, 2004); Investment Advisers Act of 1949 Release No. 2330 (November 19, 2004); Litigation Release No. 19097 (February 23, 2005); and Litigation Release No. 19386 (September 22, 2005).