SEC Suspends Trading in 17 Companies to Combat the Microcap Stock Fraud -Bloomberg

SEC Suspends Trading in 17 Companies in Proactive Effort to Combat Microcap Stock Fraud Washington, D.C., June 7, 2011-The Securities and Exchange Commission today suspended trading in 17 microcap stocks because of questions about the adequacy and accuracy of publicly available information about the companies, which trade in the over-the-counter market. The trading suspensions spring from a joint effort by SEC regional offices in Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia; its Office of Market Intelligence; and its new Microcap Fraud Working Group, which uses a coordinated, proactive approach to detecting and deterring fraud involving microcap securities. The trading suspensions follow a similar suspension last week against Uniontown Energy Inc., based in Henderson, Nev., and Vancouver, Canada.