A Toronto man who pleaded guilty to securities fraud in connection with an alleged international stock manipulation scheme has been sentenced to prison in New York.
Back in May, Julius Csurgo, a dual Canadian-Hungarian citizen, admitted to securities fraud involving numerous issuers. Now, a U.S. district court judge in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) has sentenced Csurgo to 27 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit US$9.6 million.
In 2022, U.S. authorities indicted Csurgo in connection with a series of pump-and-dump schemes that, they alleged, were carried out between 2015 and 2019. The schemes involved taking control of the companies’ unrestricted stock — hiding that ownership by distributing shares among nominees through a Swiss entity, Blacklight, S.A. — and secretly funding promotional campaigns to drive up the companies’ stock prices, before selling into the inflated prices, authorities alleged.
In addition to the criminal charges, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also filed a parallel proceeding against Csurgo, his company, Antevorta Capital Partners Ltd., and two other co-defendants, for their roles in the alleged scheme.
The allegations in that case haven’t been proven.
In its enforcement action, the SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement, and civil penalties against all of the defendants, along with penny stock bans and conduct-based injunctions against the three individual respondents.
“This sentencing reflects a clear and unambiguous message: those who manipulate our markets and defraud investors cannot escape justice by running their schemes beyond our borders,” said U.S. attorney for the SDNY, Jamie McDonald, in a release.
“While abroad, Julius Csurgo manipulated U.S. financial markets, exploited shell companies, and engaged in deceitful promotions to enrich himself at the expense of unsuspecting investors. We will continue to work with our law enforcement and foreign partners to ensure our markets remain fair, transparent, and trustworthy,” he added.