Investing

SEC Charges California Man in Phony Stock Selling Scheme

Chris Lange

Published: February 12, 2016 10:10 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 1:15 pm

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged an unregistered broker in Oceanside, Calif., with fraudulently selling purported stock in a medical device company and pocketing investors’ money.

In the filing, the SEC alleged that Gregory Ruehle raised roughly $1.9 million from over 100 investors but never delivered or transferred the securities as promised while using the money to pay gambling debts, among other personal expenditures.

Michele Wein Layne, director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office, commented:

We allege that Ruehle lied to investors, sent them phony documents to further his deception, and spent their money on living expenses and gambling.

According to the SEC:

• Ruehle began his scheme as early as 2012, misrepresenting to investors in California and Minnesota that he would sell them his personally-owned securities in a La Jolla, Calif.-based medical device company called ICB International, Inc. He was a former consultant for the company.
• Ruehle, however, sold investors far more securities than he actually owned, and those he did own were not transferable. Ruehle never disclosed these facts to investors.
• Ruehle compounded his fraud by creating fabricated documents that he told investors were from the company.
• He disseminated fake company stock certificates purportedly informing the investor of the number of shares they owned in ICB.
• He transmitted the fake stock certificates with a letter falsely stating that the certificates had been transferred from Ruehle to the investor.
• Ruehle also fabricated and sent investors an additional document that served as a phony confirmation that his shares had been transferred to the investor. The document falsely appeared to be on ICB letterhead and signed by the company’s CEO.

In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California Friday announced criminal charges against Ruehle.