WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Nine men have been indicted in a stock manipulation scheme that defrauded investors out of millions of dollars, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Stock promoters Timothy Barham Jr. of Henderson, Tenn., Nathan Montgomery of Henderson, Nev., and Ryan Reynolds of Dallas were each charged in a superseding indictment issued Thursday with one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud, the department said Monday in a release.
The superseding indictment six others for their roles in the fraud scheme: Jonathan Randall Curshen of Sarasota, Fla., Michael Simon Krome of Long Island, N.Y., Ronald Salazar Morales, also known as "Ronny Salazar," of Costa Rica, Robert Lloyd Weidenbaum of Miami, and Eric Ariav Weinbaum and Izhack Zigdon, both of Israel. They originally were indicted in February 2010.
The indictment said the men of leading companies that provided offshore accounts and facilitated trading in stocks of which some of the men took control of the outstanding shares. Court documents indicated the defendants concealed from investors the true financial condition and business operations of a stock by evading the registration requirements, among other things.
The superseding indictment seeks a forfeiture of $7 million.
