Litigation Release No. 23181 / January 29, 2015
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Troy Lyndon and Ronald Zaucha, Civil Action No. CV13 00486 SOM KSC (D. Haw.)
SEC Obtains Final Judgments against CEO of Video Game Company and Purported Consultant in Revenue Inflation Scheme
On January 22, 2015, the district court for the District of Hawaii entered a final judgment against Defendant Ronald Zaucha, holding him liable for over $2.6 million in disgorgement, interest and penalties after granting the SEC's motion for summary judgment. Zaucha was also permanently enjoined from violating the antifraud and securities registration provisions of the federal securities laws, and permanently prohibited from participating in any offering of penny stock.
Previously, on August 21, 2014, the district court entered a final judgment against Defendant Troy Lyndon, holding him liable for over $3.6 million in disgorgement, interest and penalties after granting the SEC's motion for summary judgment as to monetary relief. Lyndon had previously consented to entry of a permanent injunction prohibiting future violations of the antifraud, securities registration, issuer reporting, books and records, internal controls, lying to auditors and false certification provisions of the federal securities laws; an order permanently barring him from acting as an officer or director of a public company; and an order permanently prohibiting him from participating in any offering of penny stock, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations.
On September 24, 2013, the SEC had charged Lyndon, the founder of a religious-themed video game manufacturer, Left Behind Games, Inc. ("LBG"), and his friend Zaucha with scheming to falsely inflate the company's revenue by nearly 1,300 percent in the one-year period ended March 31, 2011 through sham circular transactions.
The SEC alleged that Lyndon, who served as the company's CEO and CFO, caused LBG to issue almost two billion shares of stock to Zaucha as purported compensation for consulting services to the California-based company. In fact, Zaucha provided few, if any, consulting services. Rather, the true purpose of the arrangement was to enable Zaucha to sell millions of unregistered LBG shares of stock into the market and then kick back a portion of his stock proceeds to the company in order to prop up its revenue at a time when it was in dire need of additional funds. The company's stock was suspended by the SEC when the SEC filed its complaint against Lyndon and Zaucha, and the registration of LBG's stock was revoked by the SEC on February 24, 2014.
