Company mines investors instead of gold

Oct 1, 2010 - (Tip Report) Miami - The Securities and Exchange Commission charged CEO Jaime Santiago Gomez of Miami with issuing false information on Quri Resources, Inc. (OTC: QURS) in a pump-and-dump scheme that ran from February through July, 2009.

According to the SEC, Gomez put out press releases saying that Quri Resources was sitting on $1 billion in probable gold reserves at its Equador project and was preparing to drill. But apparently all Gomez was drilling for was buy in his stock so he could unload shares.

Eric Bustillo, Director of the SEC's Miami Regional Office said, "Investors were duped into believing that Quri Resources was a successful mining company." And that Gomez "misled investors with exaggerated claims while dumping shares."

According to the complaint, Gomez only sold $17,500 worth of stock over the six-month period. While that may seem trite, regulators say the dollar amount has nothing to do with it. If a company issues false press releases and executives are dumping stock through those efforts then they'll be dealt with accordingly.

In addition to the false claims about the purported mining project, the SEC alleges that Quri misrepresented that it had signed letters of intent to acquire two valuable mining projects in Arizona, acquired a second mining project in Ecuador and anticipated producing gold within three months, and signed a letter of intent to acquire a third valuable mining project in Ecuador. The SEC further alleges that Gomez, who reviewed and approved the misleading press releases, repeatedly sold Quri stock in unregistered transactions as the press releases were being issued.

News on the pump-and-dump scheme startled investors in Quri Resources' stock Friday, bailing out of the company's shares quicker than a nugget can hit the floor. Shares of QURS fell 12 cents, or 85.7%, to finish the day at $0.02.