Guilty plea.A former consultant to J.B. Oxford Holdings Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to two charges related to concealing his ownership of the discount brokerage firm discount brokerage firm A brokerage firm that discounts commissions for individuals to trade securities. Most discount brokerage firms offer limited advice but reduce their fees by 50% or more compared with full-service brokerage firms. during the mid-1990s, prosecutors said. Irving Kott, 73, faced two felony felony (fĕl`ənē), any grave crime, in contrast to a misdemeanor, that is so declared in statute or was so considered in common law. counts of concealing material facts from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Montreal resident agreed to serve five years' probation and pay $1 million in fines, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. said in a statement. Kott's agreement ends a seven-year criminal investigation, said Jeffrey Isaacs, assistant U.S. attorney. In 2000, Beverly Hills-based JB Oxford paid $2 million to end a securities fraud investigation into whether Kott secretly owned the firm. As part of the settlement, JB Oxford cut all ties with Kott. Kott's Los Angeles attorney, Brian Sun, did not return a call last week seeking comment. Kott will make his initial court appearance in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on May 17. In 1993, Kott helped raise money for Reynolds Kendrick Stratton Inc., which was later renamed JB Oxford, prosecutors said. The first count of the criminal information says Kott caused JB Oxford to omit o·mit tr.v. o·mit·ted, o·mit·ting, o·mits 1. To fail to include or mention; leave out: omit a word. 2. a. To pass over; neglect. b. that he beneficially owned 332,000 shares from a 1994 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The second count relates to $6.5 million in loans made to JB Oxford in 1994 and 1995. Kott was the source of about 75 percent of those loans, and he benefited from the interest payments. Kott caused JB Oxford to file a false 10-K with the SEC in April 1995 that didn't disclose his interest, prosecutors said. Recently, JB Oxford has gotten caught up in the mutual fund scandal involving the processing of late trades. In April the film received a so-called Wells notice A Wells Notice is a letter that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sends to people or firms when it is planning to bring an enforcement action against them. The Wells Notice indicates that the SEC staff has determined it may bring a civil action against the target. informing it that SEC enforcement action is imminent. At the same time, the company's president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , James Lewis James Lewis can refer to:
--Bloomberg News |
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