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Press Release

Swiss Attorney Sentenced for Participating in Global Pump-and-Dump Scheme

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Swiss lawyer was sentenced today in federal court in Boston in connection with participating in an international pump-and-dump scheme.

Matthew Ledvina, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 30 months of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $50,000. In February 2019, Ledvina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

In or about June 2017, Ledvina assisted his co-conspirators by creating nominee entities that were used to hold shares in Environmental Packaging Technologies Inc. (EPTI), a publicly-traded company. The nominee entities allowed the true owners of the shares to mask their identities and to secretly sell large quantities of EPTI shares, even as they and others simultaneously orchestrated promotional campaigns and other manipulative efforts to artificially inflate the price and trading volume of those shares.

Roger Knox, the operator of Silverton, a Switzerland-based asset management firm, was charged with helping to facilitate the EPTI pump-and-dump and other market manipulation schemes. During the pump-and-dump, Silverton sold approximately $1.5 million worth of EPTI stock before trading was halted by the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Knox previously pleaded guilty and is currently scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 30, 2020. 

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen of Lelling’s Securities and Financial Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

Updated June 3, 2020

Topic
Securities, Commodities, & Investment Fraud