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Don't Underestimate the Young Players...
SEC says teen is a repeat scammer
April 30, 2002
By JAMES B. KELLEHER
The Orange County Register
Cole A. Bartiromo had already been in trouble with federal regulators when he orchestrated the Internet scam last fall that defrauded victims of more than $1 million, the government said Monday.
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New York, regulators said the Mission Viejo teen ran a stock scheme last spring and summer - five months before his Invest Better 2001 online gambling scam - that used the Web to manipulate the prices of 15 companies, including Irvine-based Broadcom Corp.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Bartiromo, a Trabuco Hills High School senior, made $91,400 from the scheme. It wants to seize the money and fine him.
SEC investigators in a regional office spotted the alleged stock scam in July. But they declined to prosecute after Bartiromo and his dad promised that the teen would stop posting false statements on the Internet.
Five months later, Bartiromo was back with his Invest Better 2001 scam, which took in $1.6 million from victims who were promised risk-free returns of up to 2,500 percent.
Bartiromo's attorney, David Bayless, dismissed the stock allegations as "old news, ancient history."
"They knew about this back in December," Bayless said. "We were well on our way to settling this issue. It's a free country ... (but) I'm surprised they chose to do it this way."
The SEC declined Monday to comment on the timing of the new complaint.
April 30, 2002
By JAMES B. KELLEHER
The Orange County Register
Cole A. Bartiromo had already been in trouble with federal regulators when he orchestrated the Internet scam last fall that defrauded victims of more than $1 million, the government said Monday.
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in New York, regulators said the Mission Viejo teen ran a stock scheme last spring and summer - five months before his Invest Better 2001 online gambling scam - that used the Web to manipulate the prices of 15 companies, including Irvine-based Broadcom Corp.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Bartiromo, a Trabuco Hills High School senior, made $91,400 from the scheme. It wants to seize the money and fine him.
SEC investigators in a regional office spotted the alleged stock scam in July. But they declined to prosecute after Bartiromo and his dad promised that the teen would stop posting false statements on the Internet.
Five months later, Bartiromo was back with his Invest Better 2001 scam, which took in $1.6 million from victims who were promised risk-free returns of up to 2,500 percent.
Bartiromo's attorney, David Bayless, dismissed the stock allegations as "old news, ancient history."
"They knew about this back in December," Bayless said. "We were well on our way to settling this issue. It's a free country ... (but) I'm surprised they chose to do it this way."
The SEC declined Monday to comment on the timing of the new complaint.