SEC defendant Sodi pleads not guilty

by Mike Caswell

Brian Robert Sodi, the Florida stock tout also known as the "Mailman," has pleaded not guilty to charges he faces for a $1.1-million OTC Markets scheme. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Mr. Sodi, 46, entered the plea in an appearance on Monday, March 26, before Alabama Judge Herman Johnson. The judge allowed Mr. Sodi to remain free on bond.

Prosecutors claim that Mr. Sodi, with the help of an unidentified Canadian and others, boosted two OTC Markets companies with misleading mass mail campaigns. Mr. Sodi's mailers generated significant market activity, but failed to disclose that he intended to sell hundreds of thousands of shares into the volume he was creating, the government says. The mailers also did not disclose that Mr. Sodi was part of a group that controlled nearly all the tradable shares of one of the companies, according to prosecutors.

Mr. Sodi's not guilty plea comes just weeks after his arrest. On March 9, 2018, agents took him into custody on charges of securities fraud and mail fraud. He has been free since then on a $250,000 bond. He had been subject to a curfew, but at Monday's hearing Judge Johnson removed that condition and imposed GPS monitoring.

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