NEW YORK (Reuters) – Abraxas Discala, former husband of “The Sopranos” TV star Jamie-Lynn Sigler, was found guilty on Friday of taking part in what federal prosecutors have called a $300 million stock manipulation scheme.
Discala, 47, was convicted of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy charges by a jury in Brooklyn federal court.
Sigler was not charged in the case and has not been accused of wrongdoing. She played Tony Soprano’s daughter Meadow in “The Sopranos,” an HBO television drama that followed the fortunes of a New Jersey mafia family.
Discala’s lawyer Charles Ross said he planned to file motions challenging the conviction.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” he said. “We’re going to continue to fight on behalf of Mr Discala.”
Kyleen Cane, a lawyer who was also charged with taking part in the scheme and went to trial alongside Discala, was found not guilty. Her lawyer, Roland Riopelle, said he was “grateful” for the verdict.
Discala, who was the chief executive of OmniView Capital Advisors, and Cane were charged with fraudulently inflating the prices of thinly-traded penny stocks, selling them to unsuspecting elderly people and other investors, and keeping the profits.
Prosecutors said the “pump-and-dump” scheme lasted from Oct. 2012 to July 2014 and involved trades in four publicly-traded companies.
Prosecutors said the defendants’ activities boosted the stocks’ market valuations to $300 million and caused investor losses of at least $50 million in a single stock, CodeSmart Holdings Inc.
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