SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
Litigation Release No. 16064 / February 18, 1999
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. GLITTERGROVE INVESTMENTS
LTD., U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York,
99 Civ. 1153 (SHS) (SDNY 1999)
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that
on February 17, 1999, it filed a civil action against
Glittergrove Investments, Ltd., an Irish corporation with
addresses in Dublin, the Isle of Jersey and the Isle of Man,
alleging that Glittergrove participated in unregistered
distributions of the common stock of two companies: Citron, Inc.
and Electronic Transfer Associates, Inc. The Honorable Sidney H.
Stein, United States District Judge, Southern District of New
York, issued a temporary restraining order barring Glittergrove’s
future violations of the registration provisions and temporarily
freezing at least $2.5 million in proceeds from sales of Citron
and ETA made in violation of the registration provisions of the
federal securities laws. The Court scheduled a hearing for March
1, 1999 on the Commission's motion for a preliminary injunction.
In its action, the Commission is also seeking permanent
injunctive relief, disgorgement of illegal proceeds with
prejudgment interest, and civil money penalties based upon
violations of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of
1933.
The Commission’s complaint alleges that a group made up of
defendant Glittergrove and seven other offshore entities,
represented by Peter C. Tosto (now known as Peter Lybrand),
acquired shares comprising the bulk of the outstanding common
stock of Citron and ETA. These common shares, acquired from
founding shareholders and groups of their friends, family and
business associates, were resold in open market transactions by
Glittergrove and certain other offshore entities when no
registration statement was in effect. In documents filed in
support of the emergency relief, the Commission noted that, of
the $2.9 million in illegal sales proceeds that once resided in
Glittergrove’s U.S. brokerage accounts, roughly $350,000 had
already been expatriated, and that Glittergrove planned to
transfer the remaining $2.5 million outside of the United States
yesterday.
Previously, on January 29, 1999, the Commission had
temporarily suspended trading in the securities of Citron and ETA
for a ten-day period due to concerns about the adequacy and
SNIPPETS:
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. GLITTERGROVE INVESTMENTS LTD., U.S. District Court for
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that on February 17, 1999, it filed a
The Honorable Sidney H. Stein, United States District Judge, Southern District of New York,
The Court scheduled a hearing for March 1, 1999 on the Commission's motion for a preliminary
The Commission’s complaint alleges that a group made up of defendant Glittergrove and seven
These common shares, acquired from founding shareholders and groups of their friends, family
In documents filed in support of the emergency relief, the Commission noted that, of the $2.9
Previously, on January 29, 1999, the Commission had temporarily suspended trading in the
The Commission acknowledges the assistance of NASD Regulation, Inc. in this matter.
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