SEC files final judgment against Benjamin Conde in alleged penny stock manipulation scheme

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a proposed final judgment on 20 October 2026 against Benjamin Conde, whom it charged in 2019 over an alleged scheme to manipulate the market for shares of Renewable Energy and Power, Inc. (RBNW). The SEC announced the filing on 21 October.

What the SEC alleged

According to the SEC’s complaint, filed on 23 September 2019 in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Conde ran the scheme between March and July 2017. The SEC alleged that he acquired millions of RBNW shares, paid for and coordinated a promotional campaign through a boiler room, and used matched and wash trades to make the stock look actively traded and push its price up. The complaint alleged that he then sold shares into the manipulated market at artificially high prices, causing substantial losses to retail investors.

In a parallel criminal case, Conde pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

What the judgment would do

Conde consented to the final judgment, which still needs the court’s approval. It would:

• permanently bar him from violating the antifraud provisions of the Securities Act and the Securities Exchange Act, and the Exchange Act’s market manipulation provision;
• impose a penny stock bar;
• order disgorgement of $1,097,800 and prejudgment interest of $1,681,021.69, a total of $2,778,821.69, which would be treated as satisfied by the restitution and forfeiture orders in the criminal case.

The SEC has also voluntarily dismissed its claims against two relief defendants, Essex Global Investment Corp. and Facultas Capital Management, Inc. The SEC says the final judgment and these dismissals conclude the litigation. The SEC thanked the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the FBI and FINRA for their help.

What it means for traders

According to the complaint, the matched and wash trades were designed to create a false appearance of active trading in a small company’s stock while a boiler room promoted it. The CFTC’s alert on virtual currency pump-and-dump schemes describes similar promotion tactics in crypto markets.

What happens next

The final judgment is subject to the court’s approval.