Earl Ingarfield, Securities Fraud, New York 2014

Las Vegas resident Earl Ingarfield, 64, has pleaded guilty to participating in a brazen pump and dump stock fraud scheme that targeted retail investors and manipulated trading in the penny stock shares of Suburban Minerals Corporation.

According to court documents, Ingarfield engaged in a classic pump and dump scheme where the price of Suburban Minerals stock was inflated with paid promotions and fairy tales of riches from a $5 billion African diamond mine. The scheme was designed to deceive investors into buying the worthless stock, only to see its value plummet once the truth came to light.

Between January and March 2014, Ingarfield made over $1.4 million by selling millions of his secretly amassed shares of Suburban Minerals stock. The Securities and Exchange Commission halted trading in Suburban Minerals on March 7, 2014, after which the share price dropped precipitously and never recovered.

Ingarfield, who obtained control of Suburban Minerals in 2013, installed management at the company that acted at his direction and financed its operations. He also obtained convertible promissory notes issued by Suburban Minerals, which he then converted into tens of millions of shares held by offshore shell entities.

The pump and dump scheme was a classic example of market manipulation, and the Southern District of New York will investigate and prosecute all such pernicious schemes, said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams.

Ingarfield pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He also agreed to forfeiture of $1,418,473.

The matter is being handled by the Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Deininger and Shiva Logarajah are in charge of the prosecution.

Ingarfield’s guilty plea serves as a reminder that the Southern District of New York will not tolerate such egregious market manipulation schemes and will bring those responsible to justice.

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