The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Edward Durante with operating a multi-year offering fraud that swindled investors out millions.
According to a press release, the SEC complaint alleges that between 2012 and 2014, Durante defrauded “relatively unsophisticated investors” out of at least $11 million through the sale of securities of VGTel, Inc. The fraud targeted investors living in New England, Ohio and California.
According to the SEC’s complaint, Durante, allegedly used fictitious names to hide his criminal past from investors. Using the fictitious names Ted Wise, Efran Eisenberg and Anthony Walsh, the SEC allege Daurante defrauded investors by selling approximately six million shares of VGTel stock.
In addition, the SEC complaint alleges Durante also bribed investment advisers, Sheik Firdosh Khan and Larry Werbel, who than advised clients to purchase VGtel stock. Khana, a resident of San Diego, California, was a representative of a dually-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer between May 2002 and December 2013. Werbel, a resident of Solon, Ohio, owns and operates Evolution Partners.
Furthermore, the SEC complaint allege Durante engaged in matched trading of VGTel stock with a stockbroker, Christopher Cervino, to artificially control the stock’s market price. Cervino a resident of Clifton, New Jersey, has been associated with several registered broker-dealers over the past decade.
When investors are duped by greedy and unscrupulous financial professionals, the brokerage firms that employee such individuals may be liable for investment losses. Brokerage firms have a responsibility to monitor the conduct of their employees and implement the necessary safeguards to detect fraud.
If you purchased VGTel stock and suffered significant losses, The White Law Group may be able to help recover your losses. For a free consultation with a securities attorney, please call (312)238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee.
For more information on The White Law Group, visit whitesecuritieslaw.com.
