Securities: Lawyer Convicted of Securities Fraud

Ulysses Thomas Ware, 46, an Atlanta lawyer who represented himself in trial was convicted of securities fraud. A New York jury decided that Ware misled investors with faked press releases in order to sell stock to his own companies at a profit. Ware was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud.

Atlanta lawyer convicted of securities fraud by NYC jury

Ware likely will be sentenced to between eight and ten years in jail. Prosecutors ask that Ware be held without bail because Ware did not reliably show up to cases in the last decade. The government says that Ware offered to help companies through consultant work and financial advice he offered through his law firm. As payment, the companies would give Ware stock. In closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Feldman said that Ware caused investors to lose money by sending faked press releases over the internet, leading to the stock price to increase as interest grew. Feldman says that Ware's goal was to "create false hype about stocks and get unsuspecting people.. to buy the company's stocks so Ware could dump his own shares and make a lot of money for himself."