Renee
1年前
ABWN: Airborne Wireless Network; Kalistratos Kabilafkas; Timoleon Kabilafkas; Tim Kabilafkas Revocable Trust; Magdaline Kablifafkas 1989 Trust
SEC Granted Summary Judgment and Obtains Final Judgment Against Two Individuals and Three Entities in $45 Million Fraudulent Scheme
On January 15, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against technology company, Airborne Wireless Network, its undisclosed control person, Kalistratos "Kelly" Kabilafkas, and his father, Timoleon "Tim" Kabilakfas, for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme to gain control of Airborne, promote its stock, and defraud investors.
According to the SEC's complaint, filed on March 2, 2021, Kelly Kabilafkas covertly purchased essentially all the outstanding shares of a shell company that would become Airborne, which he secretly controlled, and then distributed millions of shares among himself, his father, and other associates. As alleged, Kelly Kabilafkas and his associates deceived Airborne's transfer agent and several broker dealers to have the shares transferred into Kabilafkas' and his associates' names, deposited in their brokerage accounts, and cleared for sale to the public. Also as alleged, Kelly Kabilafkas, through Airborne and its nominal CEO, co-defendant Jack Edward Daniels, spent millions of dollars on an advertising campaign that concealed that Airborne was a vehicle for Kabilafkas's fraudulent scheme. The complaint further alleges that during the campaign, the Kabilafkases and their associates sold their Airborne shares for proceeds of more than $22 million. At the same time, as alleged, Airborne raised approximately $22.8 million from unsuspecting investors through public and private offerings, while Airborne's materially false and misleading statements about the company were publicly available. In total, the Complaint alleged that the scheme raised nearly $45 million.
On September 12, 2023, the Court granted the Commission's motion for summary judgment against Kelly and Tim Kabilafkas, Airborne, and Daniels, finding they had engaged in a scheme to take undisclosed control of Airborne and carry out a "pump and dump" in violation of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The Court also granted the Commission's motion for summary judgment for its unjust enrichment claims against two relief defendant trusts controlled by the Kabilafkases.
On November 26, 2024, the Court granted the Commission's motion for remedies and final judgment, finding Kelly Kabilafkas liable for over $44 million in disgorgement, $12 million in prejudgment interest, and $21 million in civil penalties. The Court also assessed civil penalties against Tim Kabilafkas and Airborne, in the amounts of $460,928 and $1,152,314, respectively, and also ordered them and the relief defendants to pay disgorgement and prejudgment interest on a joint and several basis with Kelly Kabilafkas. In addition, the Court permanently enjoined Kelly and Tim Kabilafkas and Airborne from further violations of the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and imposed a penny stock bar against each of the Kabilafkases. The Court stayed the case against Daniels, pending the conclusion of the parallel criminal action against him.
The Commission's litigation is being led by Dan Maher and Nick Margida, with assistance from George Bagnall, Jennie B. Krasner, Paul Bohr, Bob Nesbitt, Jeffrey Anderson, and Avron Elbaum, and is being supervised by James Connor and Chris Bruckmann. The SEC's investigation of this matter was conducted by Ms. Krasner, Mr. Bohr, and Drew Dorman, and was supervised by Mr. Bagnall.
https://www.sec.gov/enforcement-litigation/litigation-releases/lr-26242
SEC Complaint:
https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/complaints/2021/comp25043.pdf
Renee
4年前
ABWN: SEC Obtains Final Judgments from Two Defendants for Their Roles in $45 Million Fraudulent Scheme
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2022/lr25355.htm
Litigation Release No. 25355 / April 5, 2022
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Airborne Wireless Network, et al., No. 21-civ-01772 (S.D.N.Y. filed March 2, 2021)
On April 4, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered final judgments against Chrysilios Chrysiliou and Panagiotis Bolovis for their respective roles in a fraudulent scheme to gain control of Airborne Wireless Network, promote its stock, and defraud investors.
According to the SEC's complaint, filed on March 2, 2021, Kalistratos "Kelly" Kabilafkas secretly purchased essentially all the outstanding stock of a shell company now known as Airborne, then distributed millions of shares among himself and his associates, including Chrysiliou and Bolovis. As alleged, Chrysiliou and Bolovis participated in Kabilafkas's scheme by deceiving Airborne's transfer agent and their broker dealers in order to have the shares transferred into their names, deposited in their brokerage accounts, and cleared for sale to the public. The complaint alleges that Chrysiliou and Bolovis then sold these shares into the public market while an Airborne promotional campaign was underway, generating proceeds of approximately $1.3 million and $3.8 million, respectively. The complaint also alleges that Bolovis kicked-back all but approximately $4,000 of his proceeds to benefit Kabilafkas and his family.
Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Chrysiliou and Bolovis consented to the entry of final judgments permanently enjoining them from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and imposing penny stock bars. The final judgments also order Chrysiliou to pay $739,630 in disgorgement plus $112,612 in prejudgment interest, and a $75,000 civil penalty, for a total of $927,242, and Bolovis to pay $4,218 in disgorgement plus $789 in prejudgment interest, and a $50,000 civil penalty, for a total of $55,007.
The SEC's ongoing litigation against five remaining defendants and two relief defendants is being conducted by Daniel Maher, Nick Margida, and Drew Dorman, and supervised by Olivia S. Choe. The SEC's investigation was conducted by Paul J. Bohr, Jennie B. Krasner, Drew Dorman, Jeffrey Anderson, and Robert Nesbitt, with the assistance of the Enforcement Division's IT Forensics Lab, and supervised by Peter Rosario, George Bagnall, and Jennifer Leete.