UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION,
Plaintiff,
:
v. :
:
RHINO ECOSYSTEMS, INC., :
A FLORIDA CORPORATION, :
CHARLES CINI, GORDON NOVAK, :
MARK WIERTZEMA, and :
MELVIN LEVINE,
Defendants.
COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE AND OTHER RELIEF
Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") alleges:
INTRODUCTION
1. The Commission brings this action to restrain and enjoin defendants Rhino
Ecosystems, Inc. ("Rhino"), Charles Cini ("Cini"), Gordon Novak ("Novak"), Mark
Wiertzema ("Wiertzema"), and Melvin Levine ("Levine") (collectively, "Defendants")
from making materially false and misleading statements and failing to disclose material
information in filings with the Commission in violation of the federal securities laws. In
mid-2000, Defendants Cini, Novak, Wiertzema, and Levine participated in a fraudulent
scheme involving the issuance of 650,000 shares of common stock of Rhino to nominees
through a S-8 offering. On September 14, 2000, Rhino registered the shares in a
registration statement filed with the Commission, which falsely claimed that these shares
were paid to individuals for legitimate services rendered to the company. In fact, none of
these individuals rendered any bona fide services to Rhino, but were rather acting as
nominees for Defendants in their fraudulent scheme. Levine planned to sell the nominees'
shares to a European-based investment fund, and have a portion of the proceeds deposited
in Defendants' offshore accounts, in violation of the anti-fraud provisions of the federal
securities laws. Unbeknownst to the individual defendants, the European investment fund
never existed and its "representative" was an undercover agent of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. In addition to a permanent injunction, the Commission seeks an order
SNIPPETS:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MELVIN LEVINE,
Plaintiff Securities and Exchange Commission alleges:
The Commission brings this action to restrain and enjoin defendants Rhino Ecosystems, Inc.,
In mid-2000, Defendants Cini, Novak, Wiertzema, and Levine participated in a fraudulent
Levine planned to sell the nominees' shares to a European-based investment fund, and have a
Defendant Rhino, a Florida corporation, purportedly designs, develops, and markets a plumbing
Rhino's common stock trades on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board and its securities are
the Commission entered a cease-and-desist order against Levine for committing or causing
The Fund's representative and his associates explained to the individual defendants that they
The UCA and his associates told the individual defendants that the UCA worked with two due
The individuals receiving the S-8 shares agreed to transfer their Rhino stock to Hermitage,
On or about September 14, 2000, Rhino filed a registration statement, signed by Wiertzema and
OF THE EXCHANGE ACT AND RULE 10b-5 PROMULGATED THEREUNDER
The Commission repeats and realleges paragraphs 1 through 22 of its Complaint.
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