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SEC accuses Tokyo Joe
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January 5, 2000: 3:59 p.m. ET
Popular day trading advisor charged with fraud for misleading subscribers
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil fraud charges against "Tokyo Joe” Wednesday, accusing the self-proclaimed trading guru of providing false and misleading investment advice to pad his own pockets.
For at least a year, the SEC alleges, Yun Soo Oh Park misled subscribers to the Web site of his company, Tokyo Joe’s Societe Anonyme Corp., by encouraging them to buy stocks he already owned and was selling, and circulating materially false performance results on stocks he was recommending.
Park, 50, charged subscribers $299 a year to receive his daily stock picks and unlimited access to his Web site until November 1998, when he changed the fee structure to $249 for six months or $49 a month.
His advice columns quickly became a favorite among so-called day traders looking for quick profits, as his advice routinely would cause a flurry of trading activity in various stocks.
But in more than 10 instances, the SEC believes, his advice was designed to generate profits for his personal portfolio.
In each instance, the SEC said, Park established an interest in a particular stock one or two days before he recommended Societe Anonyme subscribers start buying it without disclosing his exact stake in that issue. He then would quickly sell his holdings, sometimes within minutes of recommending certain stocks.
Such companies used in the scheme included Vialink Co. (IQIQ), Immune Response Corp. (IMNR) and Alphanet Solutions (ALPH).
SEC officials said the scheme is indicative of the new challenges facing enforcement officials in the age of the Internet.
"Whether on the Internet or otherwise, those who counsel others to buy and sell securities have the responsibility to speak truthfully and fairly disclose to their clients the financial benefits they reap from their advice,” said Mary Keefe, the SEC’s Midwest regional director, in a statement. 
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