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UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 16266 / August 30, 1999
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. GARY D. HOKE, JR.,
Civil Action No. 99-04262 (LBG) (Ex)(C.D. Cal.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") today announced
that Gary D. Hoke, Jr. ("Hoke") of Raleigh, North Carolina, has consented
to the entry of a final judgment against him by the United States District
Court for the Central District of California. Under the terms of his
consent, Hoke, without admitting or denying the allegations in the
Commission's complaint, agreed to be permanently enjoined from future
violations of the antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Based upon Hoke's sworn
statement of financial condition, which demonstrates an inability to pay,
the proposed final judgment does not provide for the imposition of a
monetary penalty,
The Commission instituted a civil action against Hoke on April 21,
1999, by filing a complaint in federal district court in Los Angeles,
California. The Commission's complaint charged that Hoke manipulated the
price of publicly traded securities in violation of Section 10(b) and Rule
10b-5. According to the allegations in the complaint:
 | Hoke disseminated to the investing public fraudulent statements
concerning PairGain Technologies, Inc. ("PairGain"), a public company
whose shares are traded on the National Association of Securities
Dealers Automatic Quotation System. Specifically, on the morning of
April 7, 1999, Hoke, under an assumed name, posted a message on a World
Wide Web page that falsely reported that PairGain was being bought by an
Israeli company.
 | That posting provided a direct internet link to another World Wide
Web page, which appeared to be a Bloomberg News Service page containing
an announcement of the acquisition. In fact, this page was a
fabrication, also created by Hoke.
 | The publication of this false Bloomberg report created significant
trading activity PairGain securities and caused the market price of
PairGain securities to increase substantially. After the report was
exposed as a hoax, the price of PairGain securities declined
precipitously. | | |
The Commission wishes to acknowledge the assistance of the Office of
the United States Attorney for the Central Distract of California and the
Federal Bureau of Investigation during the investigation of this
matter.
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr16266.htm

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