San Diego attorney Andrew Coldicutt, 44, has been found guilty by a federal jury on 17 counts, including securities fraud, false securities registration statements, and wire fraud due to his role in orchestrating two pump-and-dump schemes. The rapid-fire deliberations, which took less than four hours, led the jury to convict Coldicutt of employing his legal expertise to mislead clients, in truth undercover FBI agents, in the creation of fake companies, misleading public filings, market manipulations, and his efforts to hide their connections to these entities, per a report from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Coldicutt schemed from 2017 to 2019 to implement a fraudulent backyard fruit-harvesting company and in 2019 presented another illicit strategy when a client needed fast capital, these plans crafted complete with falsified business outlines and fraudulent public filings were aimed at inflating and dumping stock prices for profit. During the trial, prosecutors unveiled evidence that included recordings wherein Coldicutt is heard fabricating a business plan on the spot and accepting cash for his involvement, which could not escape the jury's notice.
The weight of the evidence was significant, featuring multiple recordings that revealed Coldicutt's direct engagement in the crimes, including a moment where he conjured up a business plan in situ with the undercover agents and a separate instance of him taking $2,500 in cash as upfront payment for his role in the fraudulent action, testimony during the trial projected the predicted profit for the first scheme around $4.85 million, with Coldicutt poised to make approximately $240,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Andrew R. Haden emphasized the importance of trust in securities professionals, stating, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, "Securities attorneys and other professionals in the securities industry hold a critical position of trust and responsibility," and when these individuals misuse their legal credentials for fraud, it is the innocent investors who typically endure the most harm, "Thanks to the diligent work of FBI investigators and our prosecution team, we were able to expose the wrongdoing and deliver justice without any investors suffering financial loss," Haden explained, highlighting the extensive efforts required in such an investigation, however, in this instance, no investors were harmed as the undercover operations preempted any real trading. FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy took a firm stance on ethical misconduct, reminding that "Attorneys are held to a higher standard of conduct and this case proves when an individual in a position of trust abuses their authority for unjust personal gain, the FBI will hold them accountable."
Coldicutt, who now faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison for each count, is scheduled for sentencing on July 11 before U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta and, along with legal consequences, also faces civil actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
