Adam JacksonA final judgment was issued against Anthony Jay Pignatello over a plot to mislead investors of Cannabiz Mobile, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s office.
The decision closes the book on case dating back to a U.S. Securities Exchange Commission complaint accusing Pignatello and Christopher Esposito of engaging in a scheme to defraud investors by concealing the control and ownership details of publicly traded Cannabiz Mobile, which he acted as a consultant and secretary for.
The complaint outlined how, from early 2014 to August 2015, Pignatello and Esposito manipulated corporate structures and utilized backdated promissory notes to acquire free-trading shares of Cannabiz Mobile illicitly.
The pair also installed a nominal figurehead as president and CEO of the company, who was effectively under Esposito’s direction. From September 2014 to February 2015, Esposito personally sold over 1.3 million shares acquired through this scheme.
Despite recommendations for a prison sentence, Esposito in November was sentenced to five years of probation, including a three-month period in a halfway house.
Pignatello is now subject to a permanent injunction restricting future involvement in the securities market. That includes a ban from acting as an officer or director of any public company and from participating in penny stock offerings.
Additionally, the judgment orders Pignatello to pay disgorgement and pre-judgment interest of $43,337. However, that payment is considered settled due to Pignatello’s forfeiture in a related criminal case where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud.
In that case, Esposito misrepresented to investors the prospects of taking a company, Code2Action Inc., public via a reverse merger, a plan that never materialized.
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