a Minnesota House Contractor He was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison on Thursday for a brazen plot to hijack a dormant listed seashell. enterprise and pump them up and dump them stock For unknown buyers.
Contract employee 45 years old Mark Millarwas the last of three men convicted of securities charges scam Schemes made public through prosecution Filed in June 2021 in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis.
Miller’s attorneys have asked Judge David Doty to sentence Miller to probation because of a contract business run by a Breezy Point man with his wife, and the fact that they have teenage children. citing what he called a “huge disparity” in probation sentences. one of his co-defendants.
“He’s a family man and a hard worker,” said Robert Lengeling, an attorney for Miller, who is awaiting sentencing since he pleaded guilty in October 2021.
“It is unfair to separate him from society,” the lawyer said.
Lengeling told Doty that when he recently learned that prosecutors were seeking a year in prison for Miller over the penny stock scheme, he “frankly felt like he was punched in the stomach.” Told. “I was surprised a little.”
“My client is here today and is incredibly scared about what to do with his business,” the attorney said.
The one-year prison sentence recommended by prosecutors was significantly lower than the 30 to 37 months that federal sentencing guidelines suggest for conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
“Mr. Miller committed a serious crime,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda Williams told the judge.
The prosecutor added, “I haven’t heard much remorse.”
Miller is due to start serving time in August, but Doty has sentenced Miller to two years of supervised release after completing his imprisonment. During that probationary period, Mr. Miller is prohibited from buying, selling or trading in his shares.
By giving Miller a one-day prison sentence over a full year, the judge gave the defendant a reprieve of sorts. Under federal rules, defendants sentenced to one year or more in prison are eligible for release after serving 85% of their sentence. Those sentenced to less than one year in prison are not eligible for early release.
Miller also faces demands for “more money” from the government. US Securities and Exchange CommissionLengeling told the judge that a civil lawsuit was pending against him in connection with the plan.
As part of a plea bargain with Miller, prosecutors dropped several initial securities and wire fraud charges.
Miller, along with co-defendants Christopher James Rajkaran and Saeed Javelian, allegedly used fake resignations purportedly written by executives of several shell companies between 2017 and 2019 to sue at least four companies. took control of the business.
Both companies have had no meaningful business and have failed to file required regulatory filings for some time.
The co-conspirators then used the SEC’s EDGAR public filing system and fake press releases to fraudulently inflate the share price of the hijacked company, claiming new business opportunities, prosecutors said. Miller, Javelian, and an unidentified person associated with Miller became the nominal CEO and president of the targeted companies, prosecutors said.
Defendants bought many of their shares for less than 1 cent per share and sold them for many times more than they paid in the over-the-counter market. Prosecutors said the men profited hundreds of thousands of dollars from the scheme.
At the time of the criminal charges, Miller was involved in the following efforts: take control Florida penny stock company New World Gold Co., Ltd.
The company was not identified as one of seven shell companies that were the subject of either criminal or civil lawsuits. The SEC filed a lawsuit against Miller.
Mirror spontaneously dropped the litigation related to efforts to He acquired New World Gold shortly after CNBC reported his involvement with New World Gold.
Rajkaran, a resident of Queens, New York and Guyana, pleaded guilty to the case in 2021. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison in January 2022. After his release, he was arrested last November and charged with a felony DUI, according to an April federal court filing.
Javelian, also a Minnesota resident, was due to face criminal charges before pleading guilty last November. Doty sentenced him to two years’ probation on May 10.
During Thursday’s sentencing, Miller’s lawyers told the judge, referring to criminal charges, “the client has great concerns about how far he will go in this case.”
Noting that a CNBC reporter was monitoring the hearings on Zoom, Lengeling said, “There is at least one media outlet that has a lot of interest in Miller’s case.”
“For some reason this was a demeaning kind of incident for this particular media person, and I don’t know why,” Lengeling added.
“Mr. Miller made a mistake, but he made amends,” Lengeling said.
Attorneys ended the hearing by asking Doty to seal the legal records for 10 years. Doty did not immediately rule on the request.
