Phillip Windom Offill, Jr., Stock Manipulation Scheme, Virginia 2009

Securities Attorney Charged in Stock Manipulation Scheme

Phillip Windom Offill, Jr., a securities attorney from Dallas, has been charged with conspiracy to commit registration violations, securities fraud, and nine counts of wire fraud in a stock manipulation scheme involving nine publicly traded companies. The indictment alleges that Offill and his co-conspirators employed a method to evade federal securities registration requirements, allowing them to provide millions of unregistered shares of stock to the co-conspirators, which were then sold to the general public.

The scheme, which took place over several years, involved Offill and his co-conspirators manipulating the price of stock in three companies: Emerging Holdings, MassClick, and China Score. They did this by making false and misleading statements in press releases and spam emails, which were then distributed to tens of millions of email addresses throughout the United States. This artificial demand for the stock was then used to sell the shares for large profits.

Offill was taken into custody in Dallas on Thursday, March 12, 2009, and is scheduled for arraignment on Friday, March 27, 2009, at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia. If convicted on all charges, Offill faces a maximum prison sentence of 185 years and a forfeiture of approximately $15 million.

The case is not an isolated incident, as nine other defendants have pleaded guilty and eight of them have been sentenced in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, for their roles in related stock manipulation schemes. David B. Stocker, a Phoenix attorney, pleaded guilty earlier this week to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and will be sentenced on November 6, 2009.

An indictment is merely a charge, and Offill is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has enforcement actions pending against Offill in federal district courts in Michigan and Texas.

Phillip Windom Offill, Jr., Defendant, Dallas, Texas, March 12, 2009, Faces up to 185 years in prison and a forfeiture of approximately $15 million if convicted.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/attorney-indicted-conspiracy-and-wire-fraud-stock-registration-and-manipulation-scheme