On April 10, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington entered a final judgment against Vincent Cassano for his role in a fraudulent stock promotion scheme. According to the SEC’s complaint, Lidingo Holdings, LLC hired writers like Cassano to publish hundreds of bullish articles on its clients, which appeared to be independent research pieces but, in fact, were paid advertisements.

The final judgment permanently enjoins Cassano from violating Sections 17(a) and 17(b) of the Securities Act, and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Cassano consented to the entry of the final judgment, and neither admitted nor denied the allegations in the SEC’s complaint.

The SEC’s litigation continues against Lidingo Holdings, Kamilla Bjorlin, Andrew Hodge and Brian Nichols.