A former Jamestown man, now living in Texas, has pleaded guilty in federal Court in Buffalo to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and tax evasion. Officials from the U-S Attorney's Office in Buffalo say 33-year-old Eric Cusimano participated in a stock fraud scheme that utilized several websites registered through an internet domain registrar and web hosting company. The scheme was designed to fraudulently inflate the prices of publically traded stocks of companies, generally involving "penny stocks." Investors were deceived into believing that prices at which they bought and sold the stocks were determined by supply and demand, not rigged by manipulators. U.S. Attorney William Hochul says each charge against Cusimano carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
