SEC bars rep sentenced for securities fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission Inc. has barred former broker Gerald Cocuzzo for his role in a $131 million market manipulation scheme involving the shares of ForceField Energy. In July, Mr. Cocuzzo, of Delray Beach, Fla., was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the fraud. Between 2009 and 2015, according to releases from the SEC and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Mr. Cocuzzo and others artificially controlled the price and trading volume of ForeField shares by using nominees to purchase and sell stock without disclosing the information to investors and potential investors. In addition, they were accused of orchestrating the trading of ForceField stock to create the misleading appearance of genuine trading volume and interest in the stock, and concealing secret payments to stock promoters and broker-dealers who promoted and sold ForceField stock to investors and potential investors while falsely claiming to be independent of the company. The fraudulent scheme caused a loss of approximately $131 million to the investing public, the Justice Department said. Between January 2015 and April 2015, Mr. Cocuzzo received secret cash kickbacks from a ForceField executive in exchange for purchasing ForceField stock in his clients' brokerage accounts, the Justice Department said. He did not disclose these payments to his clients, and he concealed his participation in the fraudulent scheme by using prepaid, disposable cellular telephones and encrypted, content-expiring messaging applications, and by paying kickbacks in cash during in-person meetings. Mr. Cucozzo, who worked at nine firms since he started his securities career in 2009, was most recently employed by Newbridge Securities, which discharged him in May 2016 after his indictment was handed down.