SEC v. Ciapala, et al.
DOCKET · 1:20-cv-00008 · FILED · JAN 2, 2020
Violations Charged
Sections 5(a), 5(c), 17(a), Section 10(b), Rule 10b-5, Section 9(a)(2)
Case Overview
The SEC charged Kenneth Ciapala and his Geneva firm Blacklight SA with facilitating the sale of millions of unregistered shares of EMS Find (EMSF) while the stock's price was being artificially inflated, and with trading the stock manipulatively themselves. According to the complaints, Blacklight held and sold microcap stock through nominee entities on behalf of undisclosed control persons.
The case was one of two complaints the SEC filed simultaneously on January 2, 2020, charging six individuals whose schemes generated more than $35 million in illegal stock sales across at least 45 microcap companies. The investigations drew on assistance from regulators in more than a dozen jurisdictions, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced parallel criminal charges the same day.
Joe's Role
The SEC's press release announcing the charges names Joe among the staff who conducted the investigation.
Outcome
Ciapala and Debo were arrested in the United Kingdom in January 2020, and the SEC obtained freezes on U.S.-held assets while extradition proceedings ran.
ISSUERS · EMS Find (EMSF) & other microcap issuers