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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has won a permanent ban and financial sanctions totalling $265,067 against Ontario resident Michael Wexler, who was charged for two pump-and-dumps on the OTC Markets. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC claimed that Mr. Wexler helped boost two companies amidst paid promotions that included lines such as "Latest M&A move could send this stock soaring by over 200%!" According to the SEC, he issued news releases timed to support the market manipulation efforts of others.

The ban for Mr. Wexler is contained in a judgment handed down on March 3, 2025, in federal court in California. The judge has permanently barred Mr. Wexler from penny stocks and from serving as an officer and director. The $265,067 that he must pay includes disgorgement of $190,269 in gains, plus interest.

While the ban is largely a victory for the SEC, the judge did not impose an additional $669,687 civil penalty that the SEC had sought. In refusing to hand down the fine, the judge noted that the SEC did not seek any civil penalty against the man accused of orchestrating the fraud, Washington State resident Ongkaruck Sripetch. (The judge previously ordered Mr. Sripetch, who ran the website Stockpalooza.com, to pay $3.3-million. The amount represented disgorgement of his gains, and did not include any fine.)

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