A California businessman has owned up to his role in a stock manipulation scheme that swindled investors out of millions. Kevin C. Dills, aged 67, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in a federal Boston court, as revealed by the Department of Justice.
The scheme ran from October 2020 to July 2021, generating exorbitant profits for those involved. Dills and his cronies cooked up a plan to pump up the value of penny-stock shares, drawing from unsuspecting investors across the country. The Carlsbad, Calif., native managed to get his hands on three million shares of Oncology Pharma, Inc., a company barely making waves in the over-the-counter securities market, trading under the ticker ONPH. He then sold these to two individuals associated with a shady brokerage firm in the Cayman Islands, linked to Dills' co-defendant Joseph A. Padilla, who has already faced the music for his part in the fraud, according to the Justice Department's announcement.
Padilla's manipulations included artificially inflating the stock price before dumping the shares on the market. This classic pump-and-dump scheme netted tens of millions in dirty money, over $6 million of which lined Dill's pockets through two entities he controlled—one clandestinely directed through his girlfriend, authorities said.
Dills' guilty plea could put him behind bars for up to two decades, along with a possible $5 million fine, a stark reminder of the potential repercussions of playing fast and loose with the securities law. He's scheduled for sentencing at a later date by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns. Dills' downfall serves as a cautionary tale for would-be market manipulators, as the feds continue to crack down on financial fraudsters.
The guilty plea was part of a case spearheaded by Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and the FBI's Boston Division under the supervision of Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James R. Drabick and Ian J. Stearns are leading the prosecution charge, aiming to bring those who seek to upend the integrity of our financial markets to justice.
