SEC Secures Court's Final Judgment Against Defendant in ForceField Energy Stock Investment Fraud

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has issued a final judgment on the SEC's complaint against Richard Brown, prohibiting him from violating specific provisions of the federal securities laws.

According to the SEC's complaint, Brown was involved in a scheme starting in 2014 to deceive investors into buying shares of ForceField Energy Inc. The SEC alleged that Brown received cash kickbacks in exchange for recommending and buying shares of ForceField Energy stock in his customers' accounts, without disclosing the kickbacks to his customers.

On December 23, 2024, the Court entered a final judgment against Brown by consent, permanently enjoining him from violating the charged provisions. Brown was also ordered to disgorge $30,000 in ill-gotten gains and prejudgment interest, with the payment deemed satisfied by the restitution order in the parallel criminal proceeding, United States v. Mitchell, et al.

Previously, in 2016 and 2017, the Court issued injunctions against several individuals involved in the scheme, including Christopher Castaldo, Gerald J. Cocuzzo, Naveed A. Khan, Herschel (Tres) Knippa, Maroof Miyana, Pranav V. Patel, Louis F. Petrossi, and Richard St. Julien. The judgment against Brown concludes the SEC's litigation in this matter.