SEC Charges Edward May and E-M Management for Massive Offering Fraud Harming Seniors and Other Investors

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Nov 26, 2007

Washington, D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges stemming from a $250 million offering fraud that involved phony Las Vegas casino and resort telecommunications deals and victimized as many as 1,200 investors, many of whom were senior citizens.

The SEC's action charges Detroit-area resident Edward May and E-M Management Co. LLC with selling investors shares of limited liability companies that they claimed had received revenues from telecommunications equipment and services contracts with hotels, casinos, resorts and similar establishments, many of which were purportedly located in Las Vegas. In fact, no such contracts ever existed. To perpetrate their fraudulent scheme, May and E-M relied on a network of individuals, some of whom organized "investment seminars" to entice investors to invest with E-M.

The SEC brought 46 enforcement actions in Fiscal 2007 against frauds targeting retirees and other older investors.

Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the Commission's Division of Enforcement, said, "This action reaffirms the Commission's commitment to take aggressive and forceful action against those who cause widespread harm through fraudulent securities offerings, particularly those who prey upon the elderly."

Merri Jo Gillette, Director of the Commission's Chicago Regional Office, added, "Our investigation has uncovered a brazen scam in which the defendants touted phony casino and resort deals, complete with bogus contracts and fictitious hotel executives, to cheat hundreds of investors out of millions of dollars. The investigation in this matter will continue."

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