North American Clearing, Inc., Richard L. Goble, Bruce B. Blatman and Timothy J. Ward

On May 27, 2008, the SEC obtained an asset freeze and other emergency relief to protect investors whose funds were at risk due to the alleged fraudulent misconduct of North American Clearing, Inc., a Longwood, Florida based general securities and clearing brokerage firm. The SEC requested the relief when it filed a complaint on May 27, 2008 against North American Clearing, its founder and director Richard L. Goble, its president Bruce B. Blatman, and its former financial and operations principal Timothy J. Ward, charging them with fraud and other securities laws violations. The SEC's complaint alleges that the defendants engaged in illegal activities, including the misuse of customer funds, in order to hide North American Clearing's financial problems and to pay for its daily business operations.

According to the complaint, on several occasions in March and April 2008, North American Clearing improperly sold customer money market funds as a means of temporarily freeing up funds that it then used to pay for daily operating expenses. The SEC's complaint also alleges that on May 13, 2008, the defendants manipulated North American Clearing's processing system to overstate net customer money market purchases, enabling it to illegally withdraw more than $3 million from the reserves it was required to maintain for the benefit of customers.

For more information about the SEC’s action, you can read Litigation Release No. 20602 (May 28, 2008) and Press Release No. 2008-97.

The Court appointed Peter J. Anderson, Esq. as Receiver of North American Clearing. Investors can obtain more information about the Receivership by visiting the website of North American Clearing, listening to a recorded message line at (404) 407-5115 or sending an email to naci.hotline@sutherland.com.

http://www.sec.gov/divisions/enforce/claims/naclearing.htm