SEC Suspends Trading in 26 Stocks in Corporate Hijacking Cases

The SEC suspended trading in the securities of 26 companies that appear to have usurped the identity of defunct or inactive publicly-traded corporations using a tactic known as corporate hijacking. The Commission ordered the suspensions because of questions regarding the adequacy and accuracy of information pertaining to their status as publicly-traded companies.  The trading suspensions are part of the SEC's stepped-up effort to address fraud involving the securities of non-exchange traded, or microcap, securities. These are the first actions resulting from the recent formation of the Enforcement Division's microcap fraud working group. In March 2007, the Commission suspended trading in the securities of 35 companies as part of the SEC's Anti-Spam Initiative, which targets potentially fraudulent spam e-mail.