UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 16916 / February 28, 2001
, CIVIL ACTION NO. CDS-01-0225 (DH) (USDC/District of Nevada)
On February 28, 2001, the Commission filed a civil lawsuit against
Internet Solutions For Business, Inc. (ISFB) and its founder and CEO,
Lawrence Shaw. The SEC's action pertains to the fraudulent promotional
activities by ISFB, a publicly traded Internet company located in
Coventry, England. From March 1999 until at least October 2000, ISFB
held itself out as a sophisticated, high-tech Internet company with
cutting edge new products and profitable business relationships with
recognizable "blue chip" companies. ISFB hyped these products and
relationships on its website, in press releases and through reports it
paid to have published. All the promotional statements contained on
ISFB's website and in its releases, and which were repeated in the
published reports, were authorized by Shaw.
The defendants are
* , a Nevada corporation headquartered in Coventry, England, is
engaged in various Internet-related businesses; and
* , age 32, is a U.K. resident and the founder, president, largest
shareholder and CEO of ISFB.
The SEC alleges that ISFB's promotional statements were false and
misleading. The company's supposed cutting edge new products never
reached the point of commercial viability. For example, a "$4.1
billion website audit service," repeatedly hyped by the company, was
nothing more than a concept which was never developed. Similarly,
announcements of business relationships with "blue chip" companies
were either outright lies or gross exaggerations of the true scope of
work or ongoing status of the relationship. Further, ISFB's stock
price projections (300% increase over the mid-term) were without any
reasonable basis and were made at a time during which the company was
in a precarious financial position. Notwithstanding dire financial
problems, ISFB's stock price and trading volume substantially
increased contemporaneously with the company's fraudulent promotional
activities.
The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions against future violations of
the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, specifically
Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5
thereunder. The SEC is further seeking a civil monetary penalty
against Shaw.
In a related action, the SEC instituted and simultaneously settled
cease-and-desist proceedings against a New Jersey corporation,
SNIPPETS:
CIVIL ACTION NO. CDS-01-0225 (USDC/District of Nevada)
On February 28, 2001, the Commission filed a civil lawsuit against Internet Solutions For
The SEC's action pertains to the fraudulent promotional activities by ISFB, a publicly traded
From March 1999 until at least October 2000, ISFB held itself out as a sophisticated,
All the promotional statements contained on ISFB's website and in its releases, and which
ISFB's stock price projections were without any reasonable basis and were made at a time
ISFB's stock price and trading volume substantially increased contemporaneously with the
The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions against future violations of the antifraud
In a related action, the SEC instituted and simultaneously settled cease-and-desist
The SEC found in that proceeding that Imcad and Bockler violated the anti-touting provision
This action is brought as part of the SEC's Fifth Internet Fraud Sweep.
For a description of other SEC enforcement actions involved in this Internet Fraud Sweep,
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