UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Before the
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 50107 / July 28, 2004

Admin. Proc. File No. 3-11507

I.

In connection with previously instituted public administrative proceedings pursuant to Section 15(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act"),¹ Respondent Alex Grinshpon ("Grinshpon" or "Respondent") has submitted an Offer of Settlement ("Offer") which the Commission has determined to accept. Solely for the purpose of these proceedings and any other proceedings brought by or on behalf of the Commission or to which the Commission is a party, and without admitting or denying the findings herein, except as to the Commission's jurisdiction over him and the subject matter of these proceedings, and the findings contained in Section II.C. and II.E., below, which are admitted, Grinshpon consents to the entry of this Order Making Findings and Imposing Remedial Sanctions Against Alex Grinshpon ("Order"), as set forth below.

II.

On the basis of this Order and Respondent's Offer, the Commission finds that:

A. At all relevant times, International Investment Group, Ltd. ("IIGR") was a Delaware corporation whose principal offices were in New York, New York. The common stock of IIGR was publicly traded on the over-the-counter market.

B. At all relevant times, Grinshpon worked as an unregistered salesperson for Capital Growth Management, Inc., formerly known as Investech Capital Corporation, a broker-dealer registered with the Commission.

C. On June 26, 2003, Grinshpon was permanently enjoined by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in SEC v. Ruge, et al., 97 Civ. 9306 (S.D.N.Y.) (DAB), from violating Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act"), and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder.

D. The Commission's complaint in the above-referenced action alleged, among other things, that:

1. From June 1995 through February 1996, the Defendants, including Grinshpon, engaged in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the public trading market for securities issued by IIGR through the payment of undisclosed bribes to various registered representatives and other individuals who sold IIGR stock to the public without disclosing payment of the bribes. The chairman of IIGR provided blocks of IIGR shares to promoters at a substantial discount from the prevailing market price so that the promoters could sell those shares to Grinshpon and other brokers who would then sell the IIGR shares to retail investors at inflated prices. The promoters paid bribes to Grinshpon and the brokers to induce them to sell the IIGR shares. The promoters kept a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the shares for themselves and remitted the balance to IIGR's chairman. The Defendants collectively received approximately $500,000 in illegal profits from the fraudulent scheme.

2. Grinshpon violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, and Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, in connection with the offer and sale of IIGR securities.

E. On March 31, 1999, Grinshpon pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and commercial bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.² United States v. Mark Zaborsky, et al., 98 Cr. 1037 (Alex Grinshpon) (S.D.N.Y.) (MBM).

F. The indictment underlying Grinshpon's guilty plea alleged, among other things, that at various times between February 1995 and February 1997, Grinshpon effected securities transactions for customer accounts by falsely identifying himself to customers as a registered representative while he was not licensed or registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., and, in exchange for bribes which he did not disclose to the customers, persuaded customers to purchase IIGR stock.

G. On the basis of his guilty plea, Grinshpon was sentenced to four years probation. As part of his criminal sentence, Grinshpon was ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution.

III.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission deems it appropriate and in the public interest to impose the sanctions agreed to in Respondent Grinshpon's Offer.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED:

Pursuant to Section 15(b)(6) of the Exchange Act, that Respondent Grinshpon be, and hereby is barred from association with any broker or dealer.

Any reapplication for association by Respondent Grinshpon will be subject to the applicable laws and regulations governing the reentry process, and reentry may be conditioned upon a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the satisfaction of any or all of the following: (a) any disgorgement ordered against the Respondent, whether or not the Commission has fully or partially waived payment of such disgorgement; (b) any arbitration award related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; (c) any self-regulatory organization arbitration award to a customer, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order; and (d) any restitution order by a self-regulatory organization, whether or not related to the conduct that served as the basis for the Commission order.

For the Commission, by its Secretary, pursuant to delegated authority..

Endnotes

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¹ The Order Instituting Proceedings in this matter was issued on June 2, 2004.

² Grinshpon entered his guilty plea at a hearing held on March 26, 1999. The court sealed the plea on March 31, 1999, and unsealed it on May 31, 2000.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/34-50107.htm