Former Wound Management CEO Scott Haire Pleads Guilty to Securities Fraud
Scott Haire, the former CEO of Wound Management Technologies, Inc. and a former chairman and CFO of VHGI, Inc. pleaded guilty to felony charges including securities fraud; he now faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
In 2012, the SEC formally charged Haire and several other prominent executives for firms ranging from San Diego-based US Farms Inc. to Angel Acquisition Corp. "AGEL" (now known as Biogeron Inc.) in Carlsbad with various roles in penny stock schemes.
Other executives and firms included:
- President & CFO Harold Steven Bonenberger (AGEL; Carlsbad and Carson City, Nevada)
- President & CEO Douglas D. Hauge (Clean Coal Technologies, Inc.; New York City)
- President & CEO Robert L. Cotton (Cotton & Western Mining, Inc.; Humble, Texas)
- CEO & Chairman Ryan F. Coblin (Delivery Technology Solutions Inc; Boca Raton, FL)
- CEO Kevin P. Brennan and stock promoters Marc S. Page (Tiburon, CA) and Donald G. Huggins (St. Petersburg, FL) (Optimized Transportation Management Inc.; San Antonio)
- Chairman Michael M. Cimino and President Joseph J. Repko (Sure Trace Security Corp; Philadelphia)
- President & CEO Yan K. Skwara (US Farms, Inc.; San Diego and Fallbrook, CA)
- President, CEO & Chairman Scott Haire (Wound Management; Fort Worth, FL)
The complaint alleged that Haire and other officers and stock promoters were involved in schemes that featured payments of kickbacks and bribes to stockbrokers or pension fund managers in exchange for the purchase of restricted shares of stock or, in the case of brokers, for inflated purchases of a microchip company's stock.
According to SEC Miami Regional Director Eric Bustillo, kickbacks were disguised "as payments to phony consulting companies that performed no actual work…These illegal activities were fully intend to artificially inflate the stock volume and prices of these penny stock companies to the detriment of investors."
If you have invested with Scott Haire, Wound Management Technologies, or any company named in the complaint which has proven harmful to your investments or interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for an investigation and consultation.
News: Former CEO pleads guilty to securities fraud (Sun Sentinel)