U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25993 / May 3, 2024
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ahmed Alomari and MCM Consulting, No. 1:24-cv-00172 (D.R.I. filed May 3, 2024)
SEC Charges Rhode Island Stock Promoter with Microcap Fraud
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Cranston, Rhode Island resident Ahmed Alomari and MCM Consulting, the entity Alomari controls, for fraud and other securities law violations related to their promotion of the stocks of at least five microcap issuers.
The SEC alleges that from at least March 2019 and continuing to February 2022, Alomari used such outlets as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, investor chatrooms, and text blasts to promote these microcap stocks without disclosing the source or amount of compensation he received from, or on behalf of, the issuers for his promotion of their stocks. The SEC further alleges that Alomari personally invested in some of these issuers' securities, then surreptitiously sold the stocks while publicly recommending that investors buy them. This conduct included two initial public offerings in which Alomari allegedly invested and quickly sold all his shares for at least $1.4 million in profits. According to the SEC's complaint, Alomari also was able to publicly sell shares he had earned from his promotional services based on false representation letters confirming that the shares were available for public trading. The SEC alleges that Alomari directed his wife, whom he named as the sole officer of MCM Consulting, to sign the false representation letters.
The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, charges Alomari and MCM Consulting with violating the anti-fraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, the anti-touting provisions of Section 17(b) of the Securities Act, which prohibit promotion of a security without disclosure of compensation received for the promotional activity, and the registration provisions of Section 5(a) and (c) of the Securities Act. The SEC's complaint additionally charges Alomari with violating Section 20(b) of the Exchange Act by violating the anti-fraud provisions through or by means of his wife. The complaint seeks, as to both Alomari and MCM Consulting, permanent injunctions from violating the charged provisions of the federal securities laws, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, civil monetary penalties, and a penny stock bar. The complaint also seeks a bar against Alomari from acting as an officer or director of a public company.
The SEC's case is being handled by Richard Harper, Jeffrey Cook, Alexandra Lavin, Jonathan Menitove, Ryan Murphy, and Celia Moore of the SEC's Boston Regional Office.