SEC files charges against ex-General Employment chairman
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. regulators have filed civil fraud charges against a former federal prosecutor and Kentucky lieutenant governor, saying he misled auditors about missing funds as chairman of an employment staffing company.
The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Stephen Pence, who was majority shareholder and chairman of General Employment Enterprises, acted as front man for a convicted felon who schemed to divert $2.3 million from the company.
The SEC settled separate charges with big accounting firm BDO for missing red flags and issuing misleading audits of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois-based General Employment in 2009.
Antonucci was the first person convicted of fraud in the federal bailout program, put in place during the financial crisis in 2008 to rescue hundreds of banks and bolster the U.S. financial system.