August 2, 2017

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Joe Yiu Cheung has agreed to pay nearly $800,000 and be permanently barred from involvement in penny stocks after hiding his significant stake in a small oil & gas company while secretly funding a fraudulent promotional campaign that artificially boosted the company’s stock price before he dumped his shares. SEC enforcement investigators uncovered the fraud by peeling back layer upon layer of shell companies and nominee owners to reveal that Joe Yiu Cheung controlled United American Petroleum Corp. (UAPC).  According to the SEC’s order, Cheung utilized an elaborate network of overseas bank and brokerage accounts mostly in bank secrecy jurisdictions to conceal his UAPC ownership.  In addition, he did not file required reports that would have publicly disclosed his burgeoning ownership of UAPC stock.  Cheung paid for the issuance of promotional materials to 2.2 million U.S. residents, inducing investors with rosy falsehoods about UAPC’s operations and prospects. SEC

Tagged in: Market Manipulation and Trading Violations, Misrepresentations, Securities Fraud,