Litigation Releases (Brian Keasberry)

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 26615 / August 21, 2026

Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jonathan Farber et al., No. 24-cv-00273 (S.D.N.Y. filed Jan. 12, 2024)

SEC Settles Litigation with Individual Charged in Alleged Microcap Fraud Scheme

On August 20, 2026, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final consent judgment as to defendant Brian Keasberry in a previously-filed action alleging a fraudulent microcap scheme.

The Commission's complaint, filed on January 12, 2024, alleged that Keasberry and two co-defendants carried out a fraudulent scheme to profit from their accumulation, manipulation, and sale of the stock of a small publicly traded company to retail investors. The SEC alleged that, from September 2017 to at least October 2021, Keasberry helped his two co-defendants to gain control of the company and a large amount of the company's stock available in public markets. According to the complaint, Keasberry operated companies, which were used to make payments for an online promotional campaign that touted the stock's great potential but concealed the fact that the defendants had paid for this promotional campaign, controlled the company, and were actively selling the majority of the freely tradable stock.

Keasberry consented to the entry of a final judgment, subject to court approval, that would enjoin him from violating Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, order him to pay disgorgement of $37,500, prejudgment interest of $12,864, a civil penalty of $37,500, and impose a penny stock bar and an officer-and-director bar against him.

The SEC's ongoing litigation is being handled by Marc Jones and Alfred Day in the SEC's Boston Regional Office.