The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained a final judgment by consent against stock promoter Antonio Katz, who was charged with a pump-and-dump scheme in 2015.

The final judgment, entered on September 14, 2018 by the Honorable Allison D. Burroughs of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, permanently prohibits Katz from participating in penny stock offerings; enjoins him from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Rule 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, and Sections 5(a) and (c) and 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933, which are antifraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws; and orders him liable for disgorgement of $9,900, the payment of which is deemed satisfied by the order of restitution in the parallel criminal case against him.

Katz was charged in a parallel criminal case and pleaded guilty on June 1, 2017 to one count of conspiracy and one count of securities fraud. On August 1, 2018, he was sentenced to 36 months of probation and ordered to pay restitution, representing the total loss to victims from the scheme, of over $1 million.

The SEC's litigation against Katz's co-defendant Jehu Hand, who was convicted after a jury trial in May 2018 of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy, continues.