Former SEC Lawyer Defends Stock Charges
A former lawyer with the Securities and Exchange Commission says he will fight civil charges alleging he participated in an illegal “pump and dump” stock scheme.
A June 14 SEC lawsuit claims Phillip Offill Jr.of Dallas set up a sham company so sales of a penny stock did not need to be registered with the SEC. In a pump and dump scheme, a company pumps up the price of its stock through press releases, before it dumps shares into the market through shell companies.
In an interview with Texas Lawyer, Offill said he was simply acting as an attorney for a client.
“If I have to, I will go to court to defend myself. I deny any role or involvement in any manner of promotional scheme, pump and dump or whatever. I was simply an attorney representing a client, and I intend to vigorously defend myself.”
