SEC prices NY lender to taxi drivers with fraud | Enterprise and Economic system Information

Medallion shares took a dive after US regulators accused the lender to taxi drivers in New York Metropolis of pumping its inventory worth by flooding media web sites with bogus information articles.

Shares of Medallion Monetary Corp. have been halted Wednesday after U.S. regulators accused the New York-based lender to taxi drivers of in search of to illegally enhance its inventory worth amid intense competitors from Uber Applied sciences Inc. and Lyft Inc.

The Securities and Change Fee alleged that after a string of banner years, Medallion floundered as the recognition of ride-sharing apps brought about the worth of taxi medallions, which have been used as collateral for loans, to plummet. As the corporate’s inventory plunged since 2013, it tried to drown out short-sellers by flooding media web sites with bogus information articles, the SEC stated in a criticism filed in federal court docket.

Medallion shares have been halted Wednesday after the inventory slumped greater than 50% to $3.94. They then resumed buying and selling, paring losses to about 33% as of 10:35 am in New York. The corporate traded nearly as excessive as $18 a share eight years in the past.

The regulator stated the corporate’s president, Andrew Murstein, paid a public relations agency to supply tons of of posts — typically below pseudonyms — that touted Medallion. Articles, which have been designed to look as in the event that they got here from precise traders who have been bullish on the corporate, appeared on websites like Huffington Submit, Searching for Alpha and TheStreet.com.

The regulator additionally accused Murstein of pressuring funding banks to inflate the valuation of the corporate’s Medallion Financial institution unit. The transfer, which wasn’t disclosed to traders, resulted within the subsidiary’s truthful worth leaping to $280 million on the finish of 2016, from $166 million simply two quarters earlier whilst the value of medallions slumped, the SEC stated.

“Firms additionally can’t store for greater valuations when there isn’t any proof to help them,” Richard Greatest, director of the SEC’s New York regional workplace, stated in an announcement.

The SEC stated it’s suing to power the corporate to repay traders. The regulator can also be in search of to wonderful the corporate and bar Murstein from serving as an officer or director of a publicly-traded firm for some time period.

“We intend to vigorously defend in opposition to the SEC’s unfounded prices,” Medallion stated in an announcement. “Not one of the allegations within the SEC criticism offers rise to a securities violation, and we’re assured that the complete report will present that Medallion Monetary Corp. and Andrew Murstein complied with the regulation.”

In its 2020 annual report, Medallion stated that it’s shifting away from the taxi enterprise to concentrate on shopper lending. Moreover financing cab medallions, the corporate says it affords loans for house enhancements, industrial companies and shopping for leisure automobiles.