The US Securities and Exchange Commission has charged James P. Anglim for his role in manipulating the market. Anglim is a New Jersey resident and a former registered representative at two US-based brokerage firms. Anglim facilitated the sale of stocks in at least five publicly traded companies. The SEC filed a complaint against Anglim at a federal court in Boston Massachusetts on July 17, 2023.
Anglim, between November 2016 and February 20, 2022, is accused of helping other individuals to sell large quantities on the public markets while concealing their identity. These individuals were able to avoid the federal securities law disclosure obligations by using this approach. The SEC complaint indicates that these individuals who were later charged with fraud were not customers of brokerage firms where Anglim worked.
Anglim’s role was to provide liquidity on the securities markets by “market-making”. As a market-maker, he quoted buy and sell prices of stocks and offered to deal with the public at those prices. The SEC claims that Anglim abused his role by assisting fraudulent individuals to illegally sell stock on the public markets.
The complaint also alleges that these individuals created artificial demand for stocks through aggressive sales promotion or boiler rooms. Retail investors bought the stock on the basis of manipulated information about price and volume.
Anglim has agreed not to admit or deny the allegations of the SEC. Anglim will pay $488,000. This includes $405,991 of disgorgement from his trading profits, and $82,009 of prejudgment interests. The final judgment also permanently bars Anglim from violating Sections 17(a), 9(a), and 10(b), of the Securities Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 thereof. Anglim was also imposed a penny stock ban.
A civil penalty will not be sought by the SEC in its settlement with Anglim due to Anglim’s cooperation with the investigation of the Commission. The Commission has also asked the court to not impose a fine. The court must still approve the settlement.
The SEC investigation involved a team of investigators from the Boston Regional Office. They included William Donahue and Kathleen Shields. Edward Janowsky, Ryan Murphy and Robert Baker also participated. The SEC also acknowledged the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The case against Anglim is a reminder of the ongoing efforts by regulatory bodies to crack down on fraudulent activity in the securities market, which can have serious consequences for retail investors.
