 UNITED
STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
Litigation Release No. 17256 / December 5, 2001
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION v. JOHN C. WILLY, JR.,
Civil Action No. EDCV01-979VAP (SGLx)
The
United States Securities and Exchange Commission
today announced that it has filed a Complaint
against John C. Willy, Jr., a Southern California
resident, alleging that he violated the federal
securities registration and antifraud provisions.
Willy promoted an overseas "high-yield"
investment program that raised more than $4.5
million from investors. The investment program
purportedly provided guaranteed profits of 100
percent per month. In reality, the investment
program did not exist and Willy used investor
money to pay for his personal expenses.
The
Complaint alleges that Willy, purportedly acting
on behalf of Temperance Investments Ltd., a Gibraltar
company, entered into agreements with two investor
groups whereby Temperance would provide investors
with access to a purported investment program
in which short-term bank-debt instruments could
be purchased at a discount and quickly sold at
a profit. Willy told the investor groups that
their monies would never be placed at risk. Instead,
investor monies would remain in separate bank
accounts and would generate lines of credit that
Temperance would use in the program. In fact,
investor monies were commingled and transferred
from their account in Gibraltar to any one of
several accounts in Europe and the United States
that were controlled by Willy.
The
lawsuit, which was filed in the United States
District Court for the Central District of California,
Eastern Division, in Riverside, California, alleges
that Willy violated the antifraud provisions of
Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities
Act) and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. In addition,
it alleges that Willy violated the securities
registration provisions of Sections 5(a) and 5(c)
of the Securities Act. The Commission seeks a
permanent injunction, disgorgement, and a civil
penalty against Willy.
For
more information about prime bank frauds, visit
the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/divisions/enforce/primebank.shtml.
SEC Complaint
in this matter.
from:
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr17256.htm
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