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So, Monster won't be coming for Starship Snacks?
Lisa Bershan and Barry B. Schwartz charged with fraud
The lawsuit says the snack company claimed they'd soon be under the Coca-Cola umbrella.
Two San Diegans, Lisa Bershan and Barry B. Schwartz, have been charged with a stock fraud that can only be called outrageous. On Wednesday (October 11) in federal court in the Southern District of New York, Bershan and Schwartz, a married couple, and a third person, Tennessean Joel Margulies, were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with carrying out an audacious fraud on investors.
According to the complaint, the couple "conned more than 35 investors into investing over $2.2 million in Starship [Snacks Corp.], that purportedly was developing and marketing a caffeinated chocolate snack." In reality, Starship "never developed or was ready to produce" such a snack, says the agency. At least two investors were told that Starship had contracts with 7-Eleven stores and the U.S. Army.
Here's the kicker: the defendants told investors that the non-existent Starship would soon be acquired by Monster Energy Company, which makes an energy drink, and later the Coca-Cola Co. And the deals would be a one-for-one stock exchange — in other words, one share of the sham Starship would be equal to one share of Coca-Cola. Of course, the story of these negotiations was a lie, says the securities agency.
In a little more than a year, says the lawsuit, the San Diego couple withdrew more than $1 million of investors' money in cash, spent $280,000 to rent a Manhattan apartment, spent $150,000 on retail purchases, $140,000 on travel and restaurant dining, $85,000 on pharmaceuticals and $40,000 on interior decorating.
This is not the first time the couple has faced securities-related scrutiny. They claimed to have a company named All American Pet Company in the Los Angeles area. In 2014, the California Department of Business Oversight hit the pair with a desist and refrain order over securities violations.
Here's something you might be interested in.
So, Monster won't be coming for Starship Snacks?
Lisa Bershan and Barry B. Schwartz charged with fraud
So, Monster won't be coming for Starship Snacks?
Lisa Bershan and Barry B. Schwartz charged with fraud
The lawsuit says the snack company claimed they'd soon be under the Coca-Cola umbrella.
Two San Diegans, Lisa Bershan and Barry B. Schwartz, have been charged with a stock fraud that can only be called outrageous. On Wednesday (October 11) in federal court in the Southern District of New York, Bershan and Schwartz, a married couple, and a third person, Tennessean Joel Margulies, were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with carrying out an audacious fraud on investors.
According to the complaint, the couple "conned more than 35 investors into investing over $2.2 million in Starship [Snacks Corp.], that purportedly was developing and marketing a caffeinated chocolate snack." In reality, Starship "never developed or was ready to produce" such a snack, says the agency. At least two investors were told that Starship had contracts with 7-Eleven stores and the U.S. Army.
Here's the kicker: the defendants told investors that the non-existent Starship would soon be acquired by Monster Energy Company, which makes an energy drink, and later the Coca-Cola Co. And the deals would be a one-for-one stock exchange — in other words, one share of the sham Starship would be equal to one share of Coca-Cola. Of course, the story of these negotiations was a lie, says the securities agency.
In a little more than a year, says the lawsuit, the San Diego couple withdrew more than $1 million of investors' money in cash, spent $280,000 to rent a Manhattan apartment, spent $150,000 on retail purchases, $140,000 on travel and restaurant dining, $85,000 on pharmaceuticals and $40,000 on interior decorating.
This is not the first time the couple has faced securities-related scrutiny. They claimed to have a company named All American Pet Company in the Los Angeles area. In 2014, the California Department of Business Oversight hit the pair with a desist and refrain order over securities violations.
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