U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 17052 / June 25, 2001
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION V. THOMAS CARTER, Civil
Action No. CV-00-09457 GHK (SHx) (C.D. Cal.)
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") today announced
that a final Judgment has been entered against defendant Thomas Carter
("Carter"). On June 12, 2001, U.S. District Judge George H. King entered a
final judgment by default against Carter upon a showing that Carter had
failed to respond to the Commission's complaint. Carter was ordered to
disgorge $12,816.47 in ill-gotten gains, to pay prejudgment interest
thereon and to pay a civil penalty of $12,816.47.
The Commission filed its complaint on September 5, 2000, alleging that
Carter manipulated the prices of securities that he owned by disseminating
false material information about the companies. Carter disseminated a mass
email purporting to be from a "momentum trading service" called the "Unity
List." The emails recommended that the recipients purchase the stock of
the profiled companies at specific dates and times. Once the stock price
began to rise in response to the emails, Carter sold his stock at a
profit. Carter made a total profit of $12,816.47. The permanent injunction
against Carter prohibits future violations of the antifraud provisions of
Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.
