LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A San Pedro man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to federal charges accusing him of using his "TeamBillionaire" email list and social media accounts to deceive investors into buying penny stocks while simultaneously selling off those same stocks for a profit.
Michael M. Beck, 48, was charged last month in Los Angeles with three federal counts of securities fraud and three counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a possible penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
A trial was tentatively set for March 5 in L.A. federal court.
The indictment alleges that Beck purchased blocks of penny stocks and then promoted those stocks to his many followers on the social media platform then known as Twitter.
Prior to promoting the stocks to the followers of the @BigMoneyMike6 handle on Twitter, Beck allegedly encouraged subscribers of his TeamBillionaire email group to buy the stock, thereby increasing its trading volume and making the stock look more attractive to potential investors.
At the same time, Beck was secretly selling -- or causing his associates to sell -- shares of the very stock he was promoting into the artificially inflated market for a profit, often while falsely telling his Twitter followers that he was still buying shares, the indictment alleges.
Investigators say Beck's alleged scheme resulted in profits of at least $500,000.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission previously filed a civil complaint alleging that Beck committed violations of federal securities law.