11 People Accused Of Using Haiti’s Earthquake To Sell Stock Illegally

Federal regulators say 11 people exploited a disastrous 2010 earthquake in Haiti to illegally sell stock in a U.S. company that they told investors would build homes in the devastated country.

The mastermind of the scheme was Kevin Sepe of Miami, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday. Sepe and five others agreed to pay a total $3.2 million to settle the SEC’s civil charges. Charges are still pending against the remaining five people.

The SEC says the scheme netted about $1 million in profits. The agency says Sepe and the others promoted the stock of Recycle Tech, a small company they touted as having legally committed to build up to 50 container homes in Haiti after the January 2010 earthquake. But the SEC says that the company never had money to do such work.

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