Israelis Swiped $55 Million| In Stock Scam, SEC Says

BROOKLYN (CN) - Two Israelis, Zev Saltsman and Menachem Eitan, swiped more than $55 million from illegal trading in shares of Xybernaut and Ramp Corps., the SEC claims in Federal Court.

The Commission claims the men pulled off the swindle with help from dozens of others, issuing PIPE financing and share registrations, and profiting "by executing short sales in the stock of both companies and covering those short positions with newly issued PIPE shares in violation of the registration provision of the federal securities laws." It accuses them of concealing their scams through wash sales between nominee accounts. And the SEC claims Saltsman and Eitan paid off Xybernaut and Ramp executives so they could continue running the scams. Defendant Ramp CEO Andrew Brown allegedly got $50,000; defendant Xybernaut COO Steven Newman and Martin Weisberg, counsel to both companies, allegedly got $1.4 million; defendant Edward Newman also is accused of participating in and profiting from the scam. See complaint.

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