Florida Man Sentenced for Securities Fraud Scheme Worth Over $9 Million

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Jeffrey D. Martin, 64, of Orlando, FL, was sentenced to 78 months’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release and fined $50,000 by United States District Court Judge Gerald Pappert for his participation in a conspiracy to artificially inflate the price of penny stock shares and sell them fraudulently to the public. Martin was also ordered to forfeit $3.5 million in ill-gotten gains.

In November 2020, Martin was charged for manipulating the stock of Mainstream Entertainment, Inc., now known as Volt Solar Systems, Inc., Resort Savers, Inc., Axiom Corp., Virtual Medical International, Inc., and Union Bridge Holdings, Ltd. In a “pump and dump” scheme, Martin and his co-conspirators published fraudulent press releases, filed fraudulent securities disclosures with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and conducted manipulative stock trading to artificially inflate the price of the stock. They then sold their shares at inflated prices, leading Martin to earn more than $989,000 in illicit proceeds from just one of the companies.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul G. Shapiro. The U.S. Attorney’s Office appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.