SEC v. Artemus Mayor (pump and dump, 2017)

Settled

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 2, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

Report an error in this record (sec-artemus-mayor-pump-and-dump-2017-3-18268) by email

In October 2017 the Securities and Exchange Commission settled an administrative proceeding with Artemus Mayor, finding that he and SK3 Group's controller Henry Jan ran a pump-and-dump of SK3 stock built on misleading press releases. Mayor was barred from penny stock offerings and from serving as an officer or director for five years, and agreed to a $160,000 civil penalty.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

$160k

Disgorgement

—

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$160k

Alleged gain

—

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Securities and Exchange Commission announced this matter on October 26, 2017 as release 3-18268. The respondents named are Artemus Mayor (1 individual, 0 entities).

The order finds that Mayor, SK3's president, joined Jan in having SK3 issue press releases announcing a medical marijuana business and acquisitions that were hollow, and that the stock rose on them. Mayor's order carries a penalty only; the disgorgement in the Jan order is not recorded here. This library tags the matter as pump and dump.

The conduct is recorded against equities, with OTC identified in the release.

The relief recorded in our data is a civil monetary penalty of $160,000. Penalty and disgorgement are distinct: disgorgement returns the gain, while the penalty is punitive. We store them separately so that aggregate figures across the library are not double-counted.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Pump and dump — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2017-10-26 Administrative proceeding instituted (cease-and-desist)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• SEC order

The linked release is a work of the United States government and is not subject to copyright. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.