SEC Brings New Charges in Multimillion Dollar Boiler Room Schemes

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced new charges arising from a New York-based boiler-room scheme, alleging that Benjamin Conde orchestrated the manipulation of millions of shares of Renewable Energy and Power Inc. (RBNW), generating approximately $3.1 million in illegal proceeds. The SEC alleges the fraudulent scheme began when Conde, a securities fraud recidivist, acquired large blocks of RBNW shares through convertible notes purchased from RBNW by Essex Global Investment Corp., an entity that Conde controlled. As alleged, from approximately March to July 2017, Conde paid a New York boiler room to promote RBNW stock to seniors and unsophisticated retail investors, fraudulently “pumping” the market price and trading volume of RBNW.