Suffield Man Pleads Guilty in Stock Scheme Case: Prosecutor

SUFFIELD,CT —A Suffield man has entered a guilty plea to federal charges stemming from a role in what authorities are calling a stock "pump and dump" scheme.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Tuesday that 44-year-old Suffield resident Christian Meissenn, also known as “Christian Nigohossian,” waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to conspiracy and tax evasion charges stemming from his involvement in a securities fraud scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between approximately 2009 and July 2016, Meissenn and others "conspired to defraud investors through a stock 'pump and dump' scheme."

Meissenn and his "co-conspirators" induced investors to purchase securities by making false and misleading representations in calls, emails and new releases concerning the securities and the issuing companies, thereby causing the price of those securities to become falsely inflated, according to court documents.

The issuing companies, most of which were essentially shell companies controlled by associates of Meissenn, included Terra Energy Resources Ltd. (which trades under the symbol TRRE); Mammoth Energy Group, Inc. (stock symbol MMTE), a company that later became Strategic Asset Leasing Inc. (stock symbol LEAS); Trilliant Exploration Corporation (stock symbol TTXP); Electric Motors Corporation (stock symbol EMCO); Hermes Jets, Inc. (stock symbol HRMJ), which later became Continental Beverage Brands Corporation (stock symbol CBBB); and Fox Petroleum, Inc. (stock symbol FXPT), Daly said.

The associates then sold positions in the securities that were held by conspirators and their designees at the falsely inflated prices, thereby "enriching the members of the conspiracy," Daly said.

After selling their own shares at a profit, the conspirators allowed the price of the securities to fall, leaving investors with "worthless and unsalable stock," Daly said.

As a result, victim investors lost millions of dollars, Daly said.

She added that, between 2011 and 2015, Meissenn earned approximately $4.4 million through the scheme and Meissenn diverted a large portion of the profits into the trust account of an attorney rather than a bank account in his own name.

The attorney was then directed to withdraw cash for Meissenn’s personal use, and to wire funds and issue checks for the benefit of Meissenn and his family members, Daly said.

Meissenn failed to report the income to the Internal Revenue Service during the 2011 through 2015 tax years, and failed to pay more than $1.5 million in federal income taxes, Daly said.

Meissenn entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of tax evasion, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, Daly said.

Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for January 31, 2017.

At sentencing, Meissenn will be ordered to pay "restitution to his victims," as well as back taxes, interest and penalties to the IRS, Daly said.

Citizens with information that may be helpful to this ongoing investigation, or who believe they may have been victimized by this scheme, are being encouraged to contact the FBI at 203-777-6311.

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