A former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer will spend the next eight years in prison for the role he played in a in a pump-and-dump stock scheme that earned him nearly $5 million.
Phillip Offill spent 15 years as an SEC lawyer chasing white-collar fraudsters before he went into private practice in Texas. He was convicted of wire fraud and conspiracy charges in January by a federal jury in Alexandria.
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In addition to the time behind bars, U.S. District Court Judge Liam O’Grady also ordered Offill to forfeit $4,840,000.
Prosecutors wanted at least 14 years at Offill’s sentencing Friday, but his defense argued that he should get three years. Offill’s attorney says they will appeal.
Prosecutors say Offill and at least 10 other people sold millions of shares of 18 small, overvalued companies. Among the companies was Emerging Holdings, which one unnamed co-conspirator ran out of the basement of his parents’ home in Reston.
The stocks were sold in the over-the-counter securities market and were not listed on U.S. stock exchanges, authorities said. The “OTC” market is a network of computers that lists stocks electronically. The stock sales were not reported to the SEC. Offill worked with others to send out news releases and spam e-mails to drive up the value of stocks, despite knowing the companies had no value.
All of the members of the conspiracy have either been convicted or pleaded guilty. They’ve received prison terms of up to 10 years.
