Department of Justice Press Release

For Immediate Release
October 29, 2010 United States Attorney's Office
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 514-2008/TDD (202) 514-1888

Securities Attorney and Former Stock Broker Each Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Prison for $43 Million Pump-and-Dump Stock Manipulation Scheme

WASHINGTON—A securities attorney and a former stock broker were sentenced today to 188 months and 151 months in prison, respectively, for their roles in an extensive pump-and-dump stock manipulation scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas Scott Woodward of the Northern District of Oklahoma. The two defendants were also ordered to forfeit more than $43 million.

G. David Gordon, a securities attorney, and Richard Clark, a businessman and former stock broker, both of Tulsa, Okla., were convicted by a federal jury in the Northern District of Oklahoma on May 3, 2010. Gordon was found guilty on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering; nine counts of wire fraud; five counts of securities fraud; five counts of money laundering; and one count of making a false statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the pump-and-dump scheme. Clark was found guilty on one count of conspiracy, seven counts of wire fraud, five counts of securities fraud, and one count of money laundering. Gordon, 48, and Clark, 62, were originally charged in a 24-count indictment unsealed on Feb. 10, 2009.

According to evidence presented at trial, between April 2004 and December 2006, Gordon, Clark, and other conspirators devised and engaged in a scheme to defraud investors known as a “pump-and-dump,â€