Baltimore Man Sentenced in Stock Purchase Scheme

Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles sentenced Ronald Kevin Bowen, age 43, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for mail fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors seeking to purchase stock in Under Armour, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. Judge Quarles ordered Bowen to pay $233,000 in restitution, and barred him from applying for credit until he completes his supervised release.

“Mr. Bowen used Under Armour’s name, without the company’s knowledge or permission, to entice unsuspecting investors to give him money to purchase Under Armour stock,” said United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “Through this scheme, Mr. Bowen bilked investors of $233,000.”

According to the statement of facts, in August 2005, a woman that Bowen had been dating began working for Under Armour, Inc. in Baltimore. In October 2005, Bowen began contacting potential investors around the country, falsely representing that he had an opportunity to purchase on their behalf Under Armour stock called “friends and family stock,” through his friend’s employment with Under Armour. Bowen told investors that Under Armour employees had an option to purchase the stock at a favorable price during the company’s initial public offering. In fact, Under Armour never offered “friends and family stock” to anyone as part of its initial public offering. Investors mailed checks to Bowen so he could purchase Under Armour stock on their behalf, but Bowen never used the money to purchase Under Armour stock, instead spending the funds on personal expenses.

On January 9, 2006 Bowen emailed investors falsely stating that he had purchased Under Armour stock and falsely advising that the market price for the stock had increased by 172%. Beginning in January 2006, Bowen falsely stated to investors that an additional 12,958 shares of Under Armour stock were available because other investors were willing to sell the stock that they had purchased during the initial public offering. Based on that misrepresentation, some of the investors sent Bowen more money to purchase additional stock.

As a result of this scheme, from November 2005 to March 2006 Bowen obtained approximately $233,000 from investors.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation for its investigative work and thanked Assistant United States Attorney Marty Clarke, who prosecuted the case.