Former Governor Among|Those Snared by SEC

WASHINGTON (CN) - Former New Mexico Gov. Toney Anaya is one of four people the SEC charged Wednesday with concealing from investors that Natural Blue Resources, a microcap company, was run by "two lawbreakers."

The SEC claims, in three administrative proceedings, that the defendants pushed Natural Blue as an environmentally friendly investment company.

"What investors didn't know was that two individuals with prior law violations - James E. Cohen and Joseph Corazzi - secretly controlled the operational and management decisions of Natural Blue while calling themselves outside 'consultants,' the SEC said in a statement. "This arrangement enabled them to be de facto officers of Natural Blue and personally profit from the company without disclosing their past brushes with the law."

Cohen, of Windermere, Fla., has served time for financial fraud, the SEC said.

Corazzi, of Albuquerque, was previously charged with securities violations and was permanently barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company.

The SEC has suspended trading in Natural Blue stock.

Also charged, separately, are Toney Anaya , and Erik Perry , who were CEOs at Natural Blue.

Anaya, a former governor and New Mexico attorney general, cooperated with the SEC investigation and agreed to settle the charges, the SEC said.

Perry also settled.

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