Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Former head of SD company charged in $28 million stock fraud

Mark Anthony Lopez arrested last week in stock manipulation scheme

Mark Anthony Lopez, former head of publicly-traded Unico, has been charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of obstructing justice. New Jersey trader Mark Allen Lefkowitz has already pleaded guilty. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the company issued 9 billion new shares of stock that were not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), thus diluting the value of existing shares. Then Lefkowitz received $28 million of free-trading shares that he dumped on the market to unsuspecting buyers. Unico would enter into purported loan agreements with shell corporations owned by Lefkowitz, most of which were based in the tax and secrecy haven of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Unico would deliberately default on the loans, and Lefkowitz's shells would sue Unico in Florida in what the U.S. Attorney calls "sham lawsuits." Lopez would agree to settle the suits by issuing unregistered stock worth seven times what Unico owed. Lefkowitz would dump those shares on the market and kick back a portion to Unico. Lopez also tried to obstruct an SEC probe, according to the indictment. Lopez was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Jan. 17.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans

Mark Anthony Lopez, former head of publicly-traded Unico, has been charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and two counts of obstructing justice. New Jersey trader Mark Allen Lefkowitz has already pleaded guilty. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, the company issued 9 billion new shares of stock that were not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), thus diluting the value of existing shares. Then Lefkowitz received $28 million of free-trading shares that he dumped on the market to unsuspecting buyers. Unico would enter into purported loan agreements with shell corporations owned by Lefkowitz, most of which were based in the tax and secrecy haven of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Unico would deliberately default on the loans, and Lefkowitz's shells would sue Unico in Florida in what the U.S. Attorney calls "sham lawsuits." Lopez would agree to settle the suits by issuing unregistered stock worth seven times what Unico owed. Lefkowitz would dump those shares on the market and kick back a portion to Unico. Lopez also tried to obstruct an SEC probe, according to the indictment. Lopez was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Jan. 17.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pennies from hell

Next Article

Vassallo Has Serious Criminal Exposure, Says His Lawyer

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader