Zirk de Maison Sentenced in $39M Penny-Stock Fraud

Zirk de Maison, 58, of Redlands, California, was sentenced to more than 12 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $39.1 million in restitution for masterminding a sprawling penny-stock fraud scheme that gutted investors of $39 million. The judgment, handed down this month, marks the culmination of a years-long investigation into a criminal enterprise that weaponized shell companies, corrupt brokers, and high-pressure boiler rooms to bleed unsuspecting victims dry.

de Maison and seven co-conspirators systematically rigged the market in stocks including Kensington Leasing, Ltd., Lenco Mobile, Casablanca Mining, Ltd., Lustros, Inc., and Gepco Ltd. They flooded the market with millions of shares acquired at near-zero cost, then inflated prices through fraudulent trading and deception. Little to none of the money collected went toward actual company operations—nearly all was siphoned off to fund lavish lifestyles, luxury purchases, and illegal kickbacks.

Brokers and former brokers among the defendants exploited their positions of trust, pushing de Maison’s stocks to clients at wildly inflated prices while hiding their massive, secret commissions—sometimes as high as 50% of the investment. Among them: Stephen Wilshinsky, 61, of Woodland Hills, California, sentenced to nearly three years and $4.2 million in restitution; Gregory Goldstein, 54, of Stevenson Ranch, California, hit with nearly three years and $6.3 million; and Jack Tagliafero, 59, of Glen Cove, New York, sentenced to over five years and more than $5 million in restitution.

The operation relied heavily on underground boiler rooms, where promoters used relentless cold calls and lies to lure investors. Kieran Kuhn, 52, of Port Washington, New York, owned Small Cap Resources in NYC, a hub of deception where employees were directed by de Maison to push specific stocks. Kuhn was sentenced to nearly four years and $5.6 million in restitution. Victor Alfaya, 55, and William Scholander, 50, both of Port Washington and Queens, New York respectively, received nearly two years each and $3.6 million and $843,423 in restitution.

Talman Harris, 60, of Monroe, Connecticut, was convicted on all counts after a three-week trial and sentenced to over five years in prison and $843,423 in restitution. Harris, like others, concealed ownership stakes and profited from the rigged trading volume he helped generate. The scheme unraveled as investigators traced illicit payments, hidden shareholdings, and a paper trail of falsified press releases timed to pump stock prices.

Two additional co-conspirators are set for sentencing in February and July 2017. U.S. Attorney Carole S. Rendon and FBI Special Agent in Charge Stephen D. Anthony emphasized that the takedown sends a message: fraud may hide in spreadsheets and stock tickers, but it won’t evade justice forever. The victims, many of them everyday investors, lost life savings to a crime dressed up as opportunity.