Registered Broker Sentenced To 24 Months In Prison For Securities Fraud In A $131 Million Market Manipulation Scheme

Today in federal court in Brooklyn, Naveed Khan, a registered broker, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and two years of supervised release after having pleaded guilty to securities fraud for his role in the fraudulent market manipulation of ForceField Energy Inc. (ForceField), a publicly-traded company that was listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “FNRG.”

The sentencing was announced by Bridget M. Rohde, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office.

According to court filings and facts presented at the plea hearing, between January 2009 and April 2015, Khan, together with others, engaged in a scheme to defraud investors in ForceField, a purported worldwide distributor and provider of LED lighting products and solutions, by artificially controlling the price and volume of traded shares of ForceField through, among other means: (1) using nominees to purchase and sell ForceField stock without disclosing this information to investors and potential investors; (2) orchestrating the trading of ForceField stock to create the appearance of genuine trading volume and interest in the stock; and (3) concealing payments to stock promoters and broker dealers who promoted and sold ForceField stock to investors and potential investors while claiming to be independent of the company. The fraudulent scheme caused a loss of approximately $131 million to the investing public.

Between February 2015 and April 2015, Khan received commission payments, or kickbacks, from a ForceField executive for purchasing ForceField stock in his clients’ brokerage accounts. Khan did not disclose to his clients the kickbacks he was receiving for their purchase of ForceField stock. Khan and his co-conspirators took pains to conceal their participation in the fraudulent scheme by using prepaid, disposable cellular telephones and encrypted, content-expiring messaging applications to communicate with each other, and by paying kickbacks in cash.

Today’s proceeding took place before United States District Court Judge Brian M. Cogan.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark E. Bini and Lauren H. Elbert are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

NAVEED KHAN

Age: 35

Residence: Staten Island, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-234 (BMC)