ATTORNEY PLEADS GUILTY IN ANTHRAX-RELATED
‘PUMP AND DUMP’ SCHEME PROSECUTION

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray of the Criminal Division announced today that a Florida attorney has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud related to an anthrax-related “pump and dump” scheme.

Lewis Van Stillman, 55, of Delray Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of securities fraud today at U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia. Stillman and several co-defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to a securities fraud scheme involving a company called 2DoTrade, Inc. (TDOT).

The indictment, unsealed Sept. 30, 2003, alleged that the defendants fraudulently pumped up the price and volume of TDOT stock by engaging in aggressive and misleading promotional campaigns, including the issuance of several press releases and the dissemination of millions of spam e-mails and faxes that falsely claimed the company had contracts for various goods and commodities worth more than $300 million. In reality, the contracts were bogus. Later, in a renewed effort to fraudulently raise TDOT’s flagging stock price, the conspirators allegedly exploited the publicity generated by the October 2001 anthrax attacks by fraudulently claiming that TDOT had an anti-anthrax product.

TDOT was a Nevada corporation purportedly headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, and London, England. The common stock of 2DoTrade was registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and was traded on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board, a quotation service operated by the NASD.

In his plea agreement, Stillman admitted serving as legal counsel who facilitated the process of taking TDOT public through a reverse merger with a shell company. Stillman admitted to conspiring to fraudulently promote and manipulate the stock of TDOT for personal benefit. He admitted to implementing a “lock-up” agreement that fraudulently restricted the public supply of TDOT stock in order to control and manipulate its price and volume. Stillman also admitted that in filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of TDOT, Stillman made false statements and material omissions that furthered the purpose of the conspiracy and the scheme to defraud.

Stillman faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $1 million fine at sentencing, at a date to be determined later.

This case was investigated by the Fort Worth Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was referred to the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division at the Justice Department by NASD. The case is being prosecuted by Department of Justice Trial Attorneys Raja Chatterjee and Dorothy McCuaig.

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