Uta von Eckartsberg

4701 Willard Avenue, Apt. 323

Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
Home: (301) 986-7959
Work: (202) 551-4465

EXPERIENCE United States Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC

Senior Counsel, Enforcement Division 2000-present

Awards and Honors

 Chairman’s Award for Excellence 2002
 Division Director’s Award 2010
 Special Act Award (Cash) 2010, 2012
● Enforcement Selectee: Detail-Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for the EDVA 2006-2007

Activities and Memberships

 Member: Summer Honor’s Program Hiring Committee 2000-2004

 Staff Head: Career Intern Pilot Program Hiring Committee 2004-2005
●Member: Post-Wells Focus Group 2009
●Member: Division’s “Case Closing” Working Group 2010
● Speaker: The 20th International Institute for Securities Market Development 2010, 2012
 Division Staff Coordinator:
Candidate selection for Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Office for the EDVA 2007- 2012
● Co-coordinator, Fall 2012 Intern Program (Commission-wide) 2012
● Member: Microcap Fraud Working Group 2012-present
● Member: MCWG Transfer Agent Subcommittee 2011-present
● Member: MCWG Issuer/Promoter Subcommittee 2011-2012
●Member: Structure & Process Subcommittee of the Enforcement Advisory Committee – “Developing Guidelines for
Investigative staff/Trial Unit Relationship” project team. 2013

Spongetech - Primary Investigation, Litigation, and Parallel Criminal Case

●Lead Investigator: SEC v. Spongetech, et al., Civil Action No.CV10-2031 (E.D.N.Y.) (May 05, 2010) (civil injunctive
action against the issuer, a related entity, the issuer’s CEO, CFO, two attorneys for the issuer, and a stock promoter, for
their roles in a massive pump-and-dump scheme (see SEC Press Rel. No. 2010-70) (obtained final judgments by consent
imposing full injunctive against all but two defendants (cases pending)); (criminal referral resulted in guilty pleas by
CEO, CFO, a related stock promoter, and four Spongetech employees (U.S. v. Metter et al., 1:10-cr- 00600-DLI
(08/26/2010) (EDNY)) (see Lit. Rel. No. 22586); see also In the Matter of Steven Y. Moskowitz, Exchange Act Rel. No.
67899, AAE Rel. No. 3406 (September 20, 2012) (follow-on administrative action against former CFO permanently
suspending him from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant); SEC v. Myron Weiner, Civil
Action No. 11-CV-5731 (E.D.NY) (final judgment entered permanently enjoining Weiner from violating registration
provisions in connection with his purchase and sale of Spongetech stock, imposing one-year penny stock bar, and
ordering disgorgement and penalties totaling over $1.3 million) (see Lit. Rel. No. 22206); obtained final judgments
against relief two-relief defendant entities in connection with their receipt of more than $5 million in illicit profits from
Spongetech’s CEO

●Developed the factual record and all primary theories of liability against issuer, a related entity, its principals, and two
attorneys for the issuer during initial four month preliminary investigation;
●Obtained a Formal Order within three months of opening investigation and two days later issued detailed subpoenas
to the issuer, its officers and directors, attorneys for the issuer, and an attorney for a transfer agent.
●Quickly (and accurately) assessed this matter as potentially implicating an egregious, ongoing fraud requiring urgent
attention and prompt recognition that a significant time lapse had occurred between a 2008 FINRA referral
(and numerous initial complaints regarding this issuer) and its eventual assignment to me
●Demonstrated percipient foresight and good judgment by drafting a chronology of events leading up to case assignment,
thereby ensuring that the Division was not caught off guard when the press and investors questioned the
timing and timeliness of our investigation;
 ●Took testimony of all primary defendants and others on expedited basis within a six-week period and developed the
testimonial records of four primary defendants sufficient to support successful criminal referrals for perjury against each;
●Simultaneously fielded and triaged hundreds of investor complaints and inquiries in addition to multiple referrals from
internal and external sources;
●Obtained trading suspension, issued multiple subpoenas, and conducted numerous interviews;
●Lead drafter of Action memo reflecting non-routine theories of liability against attorneys for Spongetech relating to
Section 5 and fraud violations;
●Led three-day presentation to the OUSA-EDNY and the FBI which resulted in the successful criminal referral of the
CEO, CFO, and an associated stock promoter;
●Primary contact for the OUSA-EDNY and EDNY in connection with the underlying criminal matter;
●Primary contact for three other interested criminal authorities (D0J-Main Justice; OUSA-D.Del., and
OUSA-D.NJ.
●Primary contact and investigative lead with respect to subsequent, successful criminal prosecution
of four other Spongetech employees;
●Performed most of the underlying substantive work in our litigation in connection with all primary
pleadings including, but not limited, to our Motions for Preliminary Injunctions which (with only one exception) were
granted on the papers alone;
●Led investigation of two relief-defendants resulting in final judgments against both;
●Led underlying investigation and developed the theory of liability resulting in SEC v. Myron Weiner;
●Led and/or participated with multiple proffers;
●Identified additional, materially incriminating evidence against primary defendants post-complaint;
●Led criminal referral of one defendant attorney to OUSA-EDNY and of the second civil defendant attorney to the
OUSA-D.NJ.

Spongetech-Related Spin-off Investigations

●Led an aggregate of six proffers of father and son stock promoters, putative cooperators over the course of a year and
ultimately determined that each made material misrepresentations during the course of the proffers; ultimately adduced
evidence sufficient to support a recommended Enforcement action and criminal referral of both for false statements,
market manipulation, touting, and registration violations. The cooperation and the conduct implicated two criminal
jurisdictions and I acted as lead POC with both. The strength of my evidentiary record convinced the Delaware criminal
authorities that neither should receive cooperation credit for their statements to us and the FBI-EDVA that they should
each be prosecuted criminally despite existing proffer agreements;
●Simultaneously led multiple spin-off investigations into conduct of Spongetech’s so-called gate-keepers including, but
not limited to: Two Transfer Agents and employees and two Broker-Dealers and employees;
●Identified a financial motive for the Transfer Agents’ knowing complicity with the Spongetech and provided the
OUSA-D.NJ with evidence directly contracting Transfer Agent’s principal’s statements to the FBI;
●Drafted detailed, extensive project lists and investigation plans; set priorities; and (alone and together with my manager
as necessary) determined short or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them;
●Identified the “puppet masters” of the SPNGE fraud who appear to have orchestrated the both the pump and the dump
of SPNGE stock;
●Identified evidence that the “puppet masters” organized a manipulation cartel to support the “pump” and “dump” phases
of the scheme and I also identified more than one-hundred individuals who facilitated or participated in the
massive, illegal distribution of Spongetech stock in unregistered transactions; and identified he leaders and members of
each the trading groups comprising the cartel.
●Adduced and developed evidence that members of the primary trading group which engaged in the manipulation and
promotion of SPNGE stock included notorious stock promoters that routinely escape prosecution despite being the focus
of multiple investigations by the SEC, FINRA, and other regulatory agencies;
●Conducted factual investigation linking the cartel leaders back in time to each other and to other, unrelated
manipulative schemes, cartels, fraud, touting, and other illegal conduct.
●Linked members of a million dollar hedge fund beneficiary to organized crime and to earlier mob-related cases
implicating the mob infiltration of Wall Street more than a decade ago (i.e., SC & T).
● Identified and compiled evidence sufficient to support recommended enforcement actions against at least fifty parties
for a variety of charges implicating violations of the anti-fraud and registration provisions of the federal securities laws.
For instance, I developed evidence sufficient to:

● Recommend Enforcement actions against all the primary beneficiaries of the Spongetech fraud (i.e.,
those who made up to fifty million in illegal proceeds) under a fraudulent scheme theory;

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 ●Recommend Enforcement actions against many of the so-called gatekeepers who facilitated this fraud
(i.e., two transfer agents, at least two broker-dealers, and associated persons) for – at a minimum –
violations of the registration provisions of the federal securities laws; and
●Identified the relevant facts and legal theories that potentially support a parallel criminal action based
upon the same factual predicate.

●Developed a compelling evidentiary record suggesting that the manipulation cartels, some of whom have documented
links to organized crime, made millions of dollars in the Spongetech fraud by (among other things) their participation in
the fraudulent scheme; and, that much of this illegal activity was facilitated by New Jersey brokerage firms where the
cartels held accounts -- likely with those firms’ knowledge and complicity.
●Prepared for and led day-long presentation to the OUSA-D.NJ referring for criminal prosecution the above described
persons and entities based upon a criminal Section 5 case under a reseller theory;
●Act as primary intermediary between various regional offices seeking to charge certain of the beneficiaries in my
scheme in the hope of moving forward with a coordinated, joint action against one notorious stock promoter;

Other Filed Cases

SEC v. Universal Corporation, Civil Action No. 1:10-cv-031318 (D.D.C.) (August 06, 2010); SEC v. Alliance One
International, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:10-cv-01319 (D.D.C.) (August 06, 2010) ( lead investigator in case resulting in
settled injunctive actions against two global tobacco company for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for
paying more than $5 million in bribes to government officials in Thailand and other countries to illicitly obtain tobacco
sales contracts which Universal agreed to pay disgorgement of more than $4.5 million and Alliance One agreed to pay
$10 million in disgorgement) (assisted in parallel criminal investigation conducted by the DOJ in which the Justice
Department filed criminal actions against a Universal subsidiary and two Alliance One subsidiaries resulting in
Universal’s agreement to pay a criminal fine of $4.5 million while Alliance One agreed to pay a criminal fine of 9.45
million) (see SEC Press Rel. No. 2010-144); SEC v. Allen Barnett, et al., Civil Action No. 1:09-cv-00457 (D.D.C.) March
9, 2009) (settled injunctive action against former CEO and CFO who perpetuated a financial fraud scheme involving the
improper recognition of approximately $4 million in revenues during two quarters in 2002); In the Matter of Thomas
Stiner, CPA, Exchange Act Rel. No. 60331, AAE Rel. No. 3014 (July 17, 2009) (follow-on administrative action against
former CFO permanently suspending him from appearing or practicing before the Commission); SEC v. Wendy Feldman
Purner, Civil Action No. 06-cv-01148 (D.D.C.) (June 23, 2006) (settled injunctive action against former registered
representative who stole $4.5 million dollars from her brokerage customers and investment adviser clients); SEC v. Linda
A. Watson et. al., Civil Action No. CV-03-BE-0270-S (N.D. Ala.) (February 5, 2003) (lead investigator - insider trading)
(criminal referral resulted in a guilty plea by Linda Watson to one count of perjury); SEC v. BryCar Financial Corp. et al.,
Civil Action No. CV-S-00-1125-LDG-LRL (D. Nev.) (September 19, 2000) (lead staff attorney in fraud case filed on
expedited basis restraining corporation and its president from engaging in fraudulent activities and offering or selling
securities while failing to be registered with the Commission as a broker-dealer) (criminal referral resulted in seven year
incarceration of principal defendant and a multi-million dollar restitution order).

The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Alexandria, VA
Virginia, Special Assistant United States Attorney 2006-2007

Obtained intensive training relating to criminal process and procedure as well as trial skills and strategy. Routinely served
as a “duty SUASA,” drafting arrest warrants, complaints, search warrants, and associated affidavits for new cases
presented to the office. As duty SAUSA, handled preliminary proceedings for the office’s felony cases, including initial
appearances, probable cause hearings, and detention hearings. Represented the Government in hearings before Magistrate
and District Judges involving defendants who had violated the terms of their probation or post-incarceration supervised
release. Such violation proceedings required gathering facts from probation officers and courts in other jurisdictions,
drafting position papers, representing the government at sometimes lengthy evidentiary hearings, direct and cross-
examination of witnesses, and arguing the Government’s position at revocation hearings.
Regularly appeared in federal court, handling felony and misdemeanor cases of all kinds. Routinely responded to
discovery requests, negotiated plea agreements, and worked with federal law enforcement officers and expert witnesses to
prepare numerous misdemeanor and several felony cases for trial. Handled numerous felony matters, encompassing
various phases of the criminal process, including but not limited to, initial appearances, probable cause and detention
hearings, grand jury proceedings, sentencing arguments, and plea hearings.

The Honorable Gary L. Lancaster, U.S. District Court Pittsburgh, PA

for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Judicial Law Clerk 1999-2000

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 Researched, drafted, and edited opinions, orders, jury instructions and bench memoranda in
connection with various areas of the law, including civil rights, securities law, white-collar crime, criminal law, and
bankruptcy; and participated in hearings, conferences and trials.

Reed Smith Pittsburgh, PA

Summer Associate 1996
Associate 1997-1999

Participated in all aspects of civil and criminal litigation in a variety of practice areas including securities law, white-
collar crime, health-care fraud, and employment discrimination.

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas-Criminal Division Pittsburgh, PA

Adult Probation Officer 1987-1997

Supervised 350 misdemeanor and felony offenders; routinely acted on behalf of the Commonwealth during
probation/parole violation hearings; conducted extensive background investigations of criminal offenders; conducted pre-
sentence investigations and drafted pre-sentence reports.

EDUCATION Juris Doctor, cum laude Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne University School of law (Evening Division) 1997
 Rank: 10/69
 Honors: Duquesne University Law Review, Associate Comment Editor

Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, Psychology Minor Pittsburgh, PA

Duquesne University 1986
 Honors: Dean’s List 1985, 1986

ADMISSIONS  Supreme Court of Pennsylvania,

 Western District of Pennsylvania
 Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals

INTERESTS ●TRX fitness training

 Avid Pittsburgh football and hockey fan
 Mentoring/Hiring-related activities
 Volunteerism (i.e., Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless)