Viking Energy Group, Inc. f/k/a Viking Investment Group, Inc. – SEC Files Complaint Against Former CEO | Goodman & Nekvasil P.A. May Recover Investor Losses
According to the SEC Allegations:
Between November 2014 and May 2016, Tom Simeo (“Simeo”), the former Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), Director, Chairman, and Treasurer of public company Viking Energy Group, Inc., f/k/a Viking Investments Group, Inc. (“Viking” or the “Company”), made materially misleading disclosures in Viking’s periodic reports regarding Viking’s purported Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”).
Viking’s public filings with the SEC repeatedly and falsely represented that an individual named Guangfang “Cecile” Yang was Viking’s CFO. In addition, certain certifications mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX certifications”) that accompanied Viking’s periodic reports, also filed with the Commission, falsely represented that Yang had performed an evaluation of Viking’s internal control over financial reporting (“ICFR”), reviewed Viking’s annual and quarterly reports, and concluded that those reports did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact.
Viking’s SEC filings on Forms 10-K and 10-K/A also repeatedly stated that the “Company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the Company’s financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP.”
In reality, Yang did not perform any functions as Viking’s CFO, and the Company effectively operated without a CFO during that period.
Simeo, as the sole point of contact between Yang and the Company, created the false appearance that Yang served as CFO by repeatedly affixing Yang’s signature to Viking’s periodic reports and SOX certifications. Simeo also signed each of the filings falsely identifying Yang as Viking’s CFO, and signed SOX certifications of his own
Aside from Yang’s purported signatures on Viking’s filings, there is no evidence that Yang performed any activities as Viking’s CFO from at least November 2014 through Yang’s resignation in July 2016. Indeed, other than a single email to Simeo from someone purporting to be “Cecile,” neither Viking nor Simeo has produced any documentary evidence that anyone from Viking, or its auditors, had ever communicated with Yang.
During the relevant period, the Company raised approximately $2 million from investors through private placements.
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If you invested in Viking Energy Group, Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A. may help you. Goodman & Nekvasil, P.A., a Clearwater, Florida, law firm with a national practice representing victimized investors, has recovered more than $180 million dollars on behalf of victimized investors.
All our cases are handled on a purely contingency fee basis by Kalju Nekvasil, Esq., formerly regional counsel with the NASD, now known as FINRA. Kalju Nekvasil, Esq. has practiced in this area of the law for more than 35 years.
There is no charge for an evaluation of your case. Further, we handle our cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that unless we recover money for you, we charge no attorney’s fee. Unless you recover any money, you pay us nothing, not even the costs and expenses which the firm will advance on your behalf.
If you incurred investment losses in Viking Energy Group and would like your case evaluated by a securities attorney (again, there is no charge for an evaluation and all cases are handled on a purely contingency fee basis), please contact us.
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