Larry Wilcox Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, announce that defendant Larry Wilcox, 63, of Hollywood, CA, pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud before U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn.

Sentencing has been scheduled for January 28, 2011. At sentencing, Wilcox faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a substantial monetary fine.

According to the court documents, Wilcox and others attempted to pay illegal kickback payments to a pension fund fiduciary to get the fiduciary to misuse investor money to buy worthless or overvalued shares of his public company’s common stock. The plan failed when Wilcox found himself dealing with undercover FBI agents, instead of corrupt pension fund managers.

This guilty plea marks another success in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI’s ongoing effort to identify and prosecute securities fraud offenders doing business in the Southern District of Florida.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI and the cooperative efforts of the Miami Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. This case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Dwight O’Quinn.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.