A former registered broker from Reno was sentenced in federal court on Thursday to 44 months in prison for a fraudulent market manipulation scheme.
Louis Petrossi, 77, was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy and securities fraud.
Petrossi manipulated traded shares of ForceField Energy Inc. between 2009 and 2015. He would orchestrate the buying and selling of ForceField stock, creating the illusion of high trading volume and interest, all while concealing secret payments to stock promoters and broker dealers.
ForceField is a publicly-traded company previously listed on the NASDAQ.
Petrossi also received secret cash payments between December 2009 and April 2015 from a ForceField executive in exchange for promoting the sale of its stock to investors, while representing himself as the CEO of an investment research firm called "Wealth Research Institute." He did not disclose any of those payments.
The Court ordered Petrossi to pay $8 million in restitution and over $335,748 in forfeiture.
