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FBI: Sarasota Man Charged With Securities Fraud

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2009

TAMPA - Another Sarasota resident has been charged with securities fraud.

Gary L. Brown, 60, was arrested at his home this morning, the FBI said. He is accused of scheming to artificially inflate the worth of stock in his company, Skylynx Communications.

A complaint filed in federal court in New Jersey alleges Brown and two co-conspirators, Joseph F. Morgan and Edward McPhee, manipulated Skylynx stock since July 2003.

Brown owned millions of shares of stock in Skylynx, a Delaware corporation that purports to be in the business of developing wireless communications. He also is the chief executive officer.

Morgan is a former accountant who raised capital for Skylynx. McPhee was a broker for Sterling Financial Investment Group Inc.

Among other things, the three men are accused of paying brokers for purchasing stock in their customers' accounts. The payments took the form of cash, free-trading Skylynx stock and restricted Skylynx stock.

"Part of the problem is that we're doing something illegal and trying to make it legal," Brown told McPhee in a January 2004 telephone call, according to the complaint.

Skylynx previously was known as Starcom Wireless Networks Inc. and Basic Technology Inc.

The FBI could not provide additional information about Morgan and McPhee, who both live in Florida.

Last week in another case, Arthur Nadel, 76, of Sarasota, was ordered held without bail on charges of wire and securities fraud brought out of New York. The hedge fund manager turned himself in to authorities after disappearing for 13 days as investors learned millions of dollars were missing.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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