The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a proposed final judgment against Benjamin Conde, closing a seven-year enforcement case over a penny stock manipulation scheme that prosecutors say targeted senior citizens. The judgment would order Conde to give up $2,778,821.69 in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and accept a lifetime penny stock bar.
What happened
Litigation Release No. 26677, published October 21, 2026, details the proposed judgment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The underlying case, SEC v. Benjamin Conde, No. 19-cv-05404, was filed on September 23, 2019. At its center sits Renewable Energy and Power, Inc., a Las Vegas microcap company that traded under the ticker RBNW and planned to sell renewable energy products.
The alleged scheme ran between March and July 2017. Conde acquired millions of RBNW shares through convertible notes purchased by Essex Global Investment Corp., an entity he controlled. He then funded a promotional campaign through a New York boiler room while trading on the opposite side of the market he was creating.
How the boiler room scheme worked
The SEC described Conde as a securities fraud recidivist, and the mechanics alleged in court filings are familiar to anyone who has studied pump-and-dump cases. Cold callers at a Melville, New York operation pitched RBNW to seniors and unsophisticated retail investors. Callers pressured prospects to stay on the telephone while logging into brokerage accounts and, in some cases, charged subscription fees for the recommendations.
Conde and his associates used wash and matched trades to manufacture the appearance of genuine demand, coordinating opposite-side trading through encrypted messaging. Conde sold more than 8 million shares into the inflated market and generated over $3.1 million in illegal trading profits, the SEC alleged. He disguised his payments to the boiler room by routing money through an intermediary under fabricated invoices.
The proposed judgment and the criminal case
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Court and case number | E.D.N.Y., No. 19-cv-05404 |
| Judgment status | Proposed, subject to court approval |
| Disgorgement | $1,097,800 |
| Prejudgment interest | $1,681,021.69 |
| Total payment | $2,778,821.69 |
| Penny stock bar | Yes |
| Payment credit | Deemed satisfied by restitution and forfeiture in the criminal case |
Conde pleaded guilty in a parallel criminal action to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, among other charges. The payment obligation in the SEC judgment would be deemed satisfied by the restitution and forfeiture orders entered against him in that criminal case. The SEC also voluntarily dismissed its claims against relief defendants Essex Global Investment Corp. and Facultas Capital Management, which concludes the litigation.
The case grew out of a broader crackdown. In July 2017, the SEC charged two affiliated boiler rooms and 13 individuals with penny stock scams that took more than $10 million from victims. A November 2018 action charged one of the same boiler rooms and four individuals over a separate manipulation that generated over $3.3 million.
Red flags from the RBNW case
The tactics in this case were not sophisticated. They worked because penny stocks are thin, lightly regulated, and often controlled by a small group of holders. Several warning signs recur in every boiler room file.
- Unsolicited cold calls pitching a tiny company you have never heard of.
- Pressure to stay on the phone while placing a buy order in a brokerage account.
- Subscription fees charged for supposedly free stock recommendations.
- Trading volume that explodes in a stock with no operating business to show for it.
Anyone who receives an unsolicited pitch like this can hang up and verify the caller through FINRA BrokerCheck. Legitimate professionals do not object to being checked.
What affected investors can do now
Victims of the RBNW scheme may already be covered by restitution through the criminal case, but timelines and eligibility rules matter. If you bought Renewable Energy and Power shares in 2017 after a cold call, preserve your account records, note the brokerage that accepted the orders, and ask a securities attorney to review your recovery options. Claims against firms that facilitated the trades are sometimes separate from the fraudster’s own obligations.
Haselkorn & Thibaut fights for investor recovery
Haselkorn & Thibaut is a securities law firm founded by former Wall Street defense attorneys who shifted their practice to represent investors. The firm has recovered over $520 million for clients in securities matters and maintains a 98 percent success rate in resolved nontraded REIT cases. Attorneys are AV Preeminent rated through Martindale-Hubbell, designated as Super Lawyers, and hold a 5.0-star client review average. The firm operates on a contingency basis; no recovery, no fee.
Contact Haselkorn & Thibaut today
Time matters in fraud recovery cases, and the earliest claims often move first. The firm offers a free case evaluation to review your losses, examine your account history, and explain your options under arbitration or settlement.
- Main Phone: 1-888-885-7162
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Offices in Florida, New York, Arizona, Texas, and North Carolina. Former Wall Street defense attorneys with 95+ years of combined experience. No recovery, no fee.
