SEC v. Benjamin Conde — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Litigation Release No. 26677, dated October 21, 2026.
The SEC charged Benjamin Conde with orchestrating a penny stock manipulation scheme for Renewable Energy and Power, Inc. (RBNW) securities between March and July 2017. Conde allegedly funded a promotional campaign, engaged in wash trading, and sold shares into the inflated market, causing losses to retail investors. He consented to a final judgment permanently enjoining him from fraud, imposing a penny stock bar, and ordering disgorgement and interest, which were deemed satisfied by restitution in a parallel criminal case.
Imagine someone secretly bought a lot of shares in a small company. Then, they paid people to loudly tell everyone how amazing this company was, making it sound like a sure bet. While people were excited and buying, the schemer secretly sold their own shares at the high prices they helped create. This left other investors with shares worth much less than they paid.
Disclaimer: all facts are drawn from the SEC's own filings; the claims described are allegations unless and until a court rules or the parties settle, and some cases end in dismissal.
SEC Files Proposed Final Judgment Against Defendant Charged in Alleged Penny Stock Manipulation Scheme. On October 20, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a proposed final judgment against Benjamin Conde in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in connection with an alleged fraudulent scheme to manipulate the market for the securities of Renewable Energy and Power, Inc. ("RBNW"). According to the SEC's complaint, filed on September 23, 2019, Conde orchestrated a scheme between March and July 2017 to manipulate the market price and trading volume of RBNW securities. The complaint alleged that Conde acquired millions of shares of RBNW, funded and coordinated a promotional campaign through a boiler room operation, and engaged in matched and wash trading designed to create the false appearance of active trading and artificially inflate the stock price. The complaint further alleged that Conde profited from the scheme by selling shares into the manipulated market at artificially high prices, causing substantial losses to retail investors. In a parallel criminal action, Conde pleaded guilty to, among other charges, conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Conde consented to the entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, that would permanently enjoin him from violating the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a)(1) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5(a) and (c) thereunder, as well as the market manipulation provisions of Section 9(a)(1) of the Exchange Act; impose a penny stock bar; and order Conde to pay disgorgement of $1,097,800 and prejudgment interest of $1,681,021.69, for a total of $2,778,821.69, which would be deemed satisfied by the restitution and forfeiture orders entered against him in the parallel criminal case. The final judgment against Conde, and the Commission’s voluntary dismissal of its claims against Relief Defendants Essex Global Investment Corp. and Facultas Capital Management, Inc., concludes the litigation.