Jammin Java Corp (OTCMKTS:JAMN) Devastated by SEC Charges Against Former CEO

Yesterday’s session was red slaughter for Jammin Java Corp (OTCMKTS:JAMN) shareholders. The atrocious 62% slide the stock suffered was triggered by an official SEC complaint, alleging a pump and dump scheme conducted a few years ago by a former JAMN CEO.

In the morning hours JAMN was trading as thinly as it has been in recent weeks, and it was mostly business as usual. Then the news came out and the tremors started. The Securities and Exchange Commission put up an official press release with an attached complaint filed with a California court. The complaint, which has been given a rather extensive bulleted summary in the press release, alleged that former JAMN CEO Mr. Shane Whittle orchestrated a pump-and-dump scheme back in 2011, which landed him and the other alleged perpetrators $78 million in cold hard cash.

The SEC charges describe a by-the-numbers job, starting with a reverse merger of a private coffee business into a public entity, the subsequent transfer of millions of previously existing shares, a pump hype campaign that inflated the price before the coming dump that drove it into the ground. This is clearly visible on the 5-year chart on the bottom.

The company responded with its own press release later in the day, stating that it helped the SEC work on the case for multiple years and current management disclaimed any involvement in the “misdeeds” of Whittle, highlighting that the SEC complaint had not brought any claims against any current JAMN management officers.

The heavy blow JAMN suffered from the SEC complaint coming to light threw the company off balance quite heavily. The stock became heavily oversold after the plunge and further wild volatility is not unlikely over the course of the next few days.