Donna Levy Sentenced

On February 19, 2014, Donna Levy was was sentenced to 60 months in connection with her conviction for Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud and Manipulation for Hire on Counts and 66 months for Securities Fraud concerning Banneker, Cardiac Networks to run concurrently. In criminal cases when

a defendant has been convicted of more than one criminal offense, a concurrent sentence allows them to serve each period of incarceration simultaneously. As such, Ms. Levy’s concurrent sentence allows her to serve only 66 months rather than 126 months (as required by consecutive sentencing).

A money judgement of $5,047,576 was also entered against Ms. Levy and forfeiture of real property located at 3109 N.E. 23rd Court in Fort Lauderdale, certain luxury vehicles and various bank accounts in the U.S. and Panama.

According to the charges, the accounts are held in the names of DML Marketing Corp, Blue Fin Financial and Udino Investment Inc. Donna Levy was sentenced in Manhattan federal court by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty who also presided over the three-week jury trial.

On January 24, 2014, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that David Levy was sentenced to 9 years in prison after having been found guilty by a federal jury for orchestrating “pump and dump” stock fraud schemes that employed the Internet and social networking sites, among other tools, to manipulate the price of penny stocks as well as participating in an international money laundering scheme. Mr. Levy was also ordered to pay a $500 special assessment fee. In addition, DAVID LEVY was also preliminarily ordered to forfeit $12 million, his home in Florida, certain luxury vehicles, and certain bank accounts.

According to the FBI the evidence introduced at trial, court filings, and statements made in court is as follows:

David Levy offered to help start-up companies obtain financing, take the start-up companies public, and coordinate marketing and investor relations for the companies, in exchange for company shares. Once they had helped the companies go public, Donna Levy put out press releases on behalf of the target companies, and she worked with her husband to secretly fund and distribute misleading third-party “buy” recommendations concerning the targeted companies. This misleading promotional campaign, along with other manipulative conduct, generated demand for stock in the targeted companies, and caused the price of the stocks to rise. David Levy, Donna Levy, and their co-conspirators took advantage of the “pumped-up” stock trading volume and price to “dump” their shares into the market until the misleading promotional campaign had run out of steam. They would repeat the scheme multiple times until the target companies’ shares were essentially valueless, thereby harming company founders and executives, as well as innocent investors who bought in reliance on the misleading promotional campaigns orchestrated by David Levy and Donna Levy.

David Levy was convicted of engaging in this pump and dump scheme with three companies that he helped take public: Cardiac Network, Inc., which has traded under symbol ACNWI, Banneker, Inc., which has traded under symbol “BANI,” and Greenway Design Group, Inc., which has traded under symbol “GDGI.”David Levy also was convicted of a money laundering conspiracy in connection with his efforts to conceal more than $2.3 million in proceeds of the fraudulent schemes in Panamanian shell company bank accounts maintained by a co-conspirator at a bank in Panama. In connection with the scheme, David Levy wire transferred $150,000 in fraud proceeds to a Panamanian shell company bank account through a bank account in New York. David Levy carried more than $2 million in cashier’s checks, representing proceeds from stock fraud, to Panama and caused them to be deposited into the shell company bank accounts.

Nine additional defendants already have pled guilty to charges arising out of the conduct described in the Indictment, and five of the nine have been sentenced.According to the FBI, this case originated and the schemes were uncovered as part of the Government’s long-term investigation into criminal conduct at the Port of New York-New Jersey.

For further information about this securities law blog post, please contact Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney at 101 Plaza Real S, Suite 202 N, Boca Raton Florida, (561) 416-8956, by email atinfo@securitieslawyer101.com or visit www.securitieslawyer101.com.

This securities law blog post is provided as a general informational service to clients and friends ofHamilton & Associates Law Group and should not be construed as, and does not constitute, legal and compliance advice on any specific matter, nor does this message create an attorney-client relationship. For more information about going public and the rules and regulations affecting the use of Rule 144, Form 8K, FINRA Rule 6490, Rule 506 private placement offerings and memorandums, Regulation A, Rule 504 offerings, SEC reporting requirements, SEC registration statements on Form S-1 , IPO’s, OTC Pink Sheet listings,Form 10 OTCBB and OTC Markets disclosure requirements, DTC Chills, Global Locks, reverse mergers, public shells, direct public offerings and direct public offerings please contact Hamilton and Associates at (561) 416-8956 or info@securitieslawyer101.com. Please note that the prior results discussed herein do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Hamilton & Associates | Securities Lawyers
Brenda Hamilton, Securities Attorney101 Plaza Real South, Suite 202 North
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