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[axelvento]

SEC suspends trading of 17 penny stocks

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday suspended trading for two weeks in 17 small stocks in a move it said was part of its efforts to prevent fraud in thinly traded stocks.

The 17 companies are "microcap," or penny stocks that trade over the counter rather than on a major exchange. The SEC said there were questions about the adequacy and accuracy of information the companies have publicly reported.

The trading suspensions run from 9:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday to 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 20.

Stock promoters can sometimes conduct fraud schemes by taking large positions in thinly traded stocks and artificially inflating their price by touting them.

The SEC said the suspensions arose from a joint effort conducted by several regional offices, the agency's office of market intelligence and its new microcap fraud working group. The microcap fraud working group is targeting stock promoters as well as brokers, attorneys, auditors and others who work with them, SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami said in a statement.

The companies are American Pacific Rim Commerce Group (APRM), based in Citra, Fla.; Anywhere MD Inc. (ANWM), Altascadero, Calif.; Calypso Wireless Inc. (CLYW), Houston; Cascadia Investments Inc. (CDIV), Tacoma, Wash.; CytoGenix Inc. (CYGX), Houston; Emerging Healthcare Solutions Inc. (EHSI), Houston; Evolution Solar Corp. (EVSO), The Woodlands, Texas; Global Resource Corp. (GBRC), Morrisville, N.C.; Go Solar USA Inc. (GSLO), New Orleans; Kore Nutrition Inc. (KORE), Henderson, Nev.; Laidlaw Energy Group Inc. (LLEG), New York; Mind Technologies Inc. (METK), Cardiff, Calif.; Montvale Technologies Inc. (IVVI), Montvale, N.J.; MSGI Security Solutions Inc. (MSGI), New York; Prime Star Group Inc. (PSGI), Las Vegas, Nev.; Solar Park Initiatives Inc. (SOPV), Ponte Verde Beach, Fla.; and United States Oil & Gas Corp. (USOG), Austin, Texas.

Last week the SEC imposed a similar suspension against Uniontown Energy Inc. (UTOG), based in Henderson, Nev., and Vancouver, Canada.