SEC v. Eric T. Landis et al. (matched orders, 2018)

Settled

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 4, 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-eric-t-landis-et-al-matched-orders-2018) by email

In November 2018 the SEC sued Virginia promoter Eric Landis and his company Ridgeview, alleging sham email promotion and about 1,300 matched trades in microcap stocks. Both consented to injunctions, and on 5 December 2022 a Massachusetts federal court entered final judgment ordering $2,505,488 in disgorgement, which it treated as satisfied by a criminal forfeiture of the same amount. Landis had been sentenced to six months in prison in a parallel criminal case.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

$2.5m

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

$2.5m

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 November 29, 2018 as release LR-24362. The respondents named are Eric T. Landis and Ridgeview Capital Partners LLC (1 individual, 1 entity). The action was brought in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts.

The complaint alleges that a self-described promoter claimed to distribute promotional emails for microcap issuers to large lists that were a sham, and traded the stocks himself, including about 1,300 matched trades, to simulate interest. The fraud alleged is the false claim of distribution and the manipulative trading, not undisclosed payment for publicity, so the paid-promotion tag has been removed.

This library tags the matter as matched orders, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The conduct is recorded against equities.

Non-monetary relief recorded: penny stock bar.

The release references a parallel criminal proceeding. Where a criminal case exists, the civil and criminal outcomes are recorded separately, because they resolve on different standards of proof.

Outcome. The SEC's January 2020 release says Landis, who had pleaded guilty in the parallel case, was sentenced on 24 January 2020 to six months in prison, two years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine. Its December 2022 release says the Boston federal court entered a final judgment on 5 December 2022 against Landis and Ridgeview, on consent. The judgment bars them from promoting or taking part in the sale of securities, including penny stocks (with a carve-out for Landis trading for himself on exchange-listed stocks), and makes them jointly liable for $2,505,488 in disgorgement, which the court treated as met by the forfeiture ordered in the criminal case. No civil penalty is reported. The judgment rests on consent, so it is not a trial finding; the facts described above remain the SEC's allegations except where Landis admitted them through his criminal guilty plea.

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.

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

Timeline

1. 2018-11-29 Litigation release published
2. 2020-01-24 Landis sentenced in the parallel criminal case to six months in prison and a $50,000 fine
3. 2022-12-05 Final consent judgment entered against Landis and Ridgeview: injunctions, offering bar and $2,505,488 disgorgement deemed satisfied by criminal forfeiture

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 litigation release
• SEC litigation release 24727 (criminal sentence)
• SEC litigation release 25587 (final judgment)

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.