NDB, Inc. and Nima Golsharifi
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 25829 / September 14, 2023
Securities and Exchange Commission v. NDB, Inc. and Nima Golsharifi, No. 3:23-cv-04724 (N.D. Cal. filed September 14, 2023)
SEC Charges Nuclear Battery Startup Company and Its CEO with Fraudulently Raising Over $1.2 Million from Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged NDB, Inc. ("NDB"), a private startup company formerly based in San Francisco, California that is purportedly developing a nuclear-based battery, and its CEO, Nima Golsharifi, with defrauding investors by making materially false and misleading statements in a company press release.
The SEC's complaint alleges that NDB and Golsharifi raised over $1.2 million from investors after falsely claiming in an August 25, 2020, press release that NDB had successfully tested its battery technology at two preeminent laboratories in the United States and United Kingdom, and that NDB had signed its first two beta customers. The complaint alleges that these claims were false and misleading because NDB had not tested its battery technology at either laboratory and NDB had not signed any beta customers at the time of the press release. According to the complaint, NDB received significant investor interest as a result of the press release, raising approximately $660,000 in the month following the press release and approximately $580,000 in additional investor funds in the subsequent 11 months.
The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, charges NDB and Golsharifi with violating 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 SEC seeks injunctive relief, including conduct-based injunctions, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and civil penalties from NDB and Golsharifi, and an officer and director bar against Golsharifi.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by Silvana A. Quintanilla and supervised by David Zhou and Jason H. Lee of the San Francisco Regional Office. The SEC's litigation will be led by John Han and Ms. Quintanilla.