A statement issued a week ago by Swiss America Securities Ltd. (SAS) sought to distance the company from the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission's (SEC) indictment of Guy Gentile, founder of SAS and its offshoot, SureTrader, both licensed by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB). It appears that distance might not be so great, as officials from the SCB spent all day yesterday interviewing SAS personnel.

While neither the company nor the SCB would comment on the details, Guardian Business understands the SCB officials confiscated computers and files.

Gentile was out of town yesterday and unavailable for comment. Attempts to reach his lawyer, Adam Ford, were not successful, however SAS sent Guardian Business a statement on the matter last night.

"Members of the Securities Commission of The Bahamas started a due diligence exercise at the Nassau offices of Swiss America Securities Ltd. today, May 4th, in their role as regulators. The management and staff is offering every assistance."
The statement continues, "Swiss America Securities Ltd. is not implicated in any complaint brought against the company's founder Guy Gentile, by the USA Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as previously reported in the news."

Swiss America stressed in a previous press release last week that the company is not implicated in any complaint brought by the SEC and is "unaffected" by Gentile's indictment on charges he supposedly conducted penny stock manipulation schemes. Gentile's lawyer Adam Ford has vowed to fight the charges, which he says contain "numerous factual inaccuracies" and relate to a period over eight or nine years ago, "well beyond the statute of limitations".

According to the SEC, Gentile engaged in "manipulative trading, provided illegal kick-backs, and distributed promotional mailings of glossy 'newsletters' with fake publication names like 'Stock Trend Report' and 'Global Investor Watch', in order to tout the stocks of purported gold and silver exploration company Raven Gold Corporation (RVNG) and natural gas production company Kentucky USA Energy (KYUS)"

Said Ford, "The indictment that has been filed against Mr. Gentile contains numerous factual inaccuracies and relates to a period over eight or nine years ago, well beyond the statute of limitations, and was brought in violation of his Sixth Amendment rights. My client intends on fighting these charges and we are preparing to file a motion to dismiss the indictment. Mr. Gentile looks forward to clearing his name."

As noted, both SAS and SureTrader are licensed by the SCB.

Swiss America has been an SCB licensee since its commencement of business in 2011, and SureTrader is a division of Swiss America Securities, Ltd., founded in 2008. SureTrader is a Bahamas-based online broker.

K. Quincy Parker, Guardian Business Editor

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian