[ by Howard Haykin ]

Stock scams are the "Violation du Jour," so beware.  One notorious pump-and-dump artist who was picked up in a March 2012 international sting operation, is coming clean and has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. 

The stoolie cooperating witness is Swiss national Jean-Pierre Neuhaus, 55, who pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday to the charge that he schemed to dump some $5 million in worthless stock on unsuspecting US investors.  He's presently locked up, and he can conduct any trades.  

Neuhaus has been locked up in a Brooklyn facility since his arrest, admitted that he agreed to scheme with Roland Kaufmann, CEO of shell company Axius Inc., on fixing the price of the Dubai-based firm’s stock using kickbacks to unscrupulous brokers.

Terms and Conditions of Plea. Neuhaus has agreed to cooperate with authorities, providing valuable information that prosecutors hope will lead to more arrests and help to expose the seedy underworld of stock manipulators, sources told The Post.

Mea Culpa.  "I made false representations to people in order to buy and sell Axius stock so I would get a commission. I knew I was violating SEC laws when I did this," Neuhuas said on Wednesday in Brooklyn court, with federal Judge John Gleeson presiding.

Neuhaus potentially faces up to 5 years in prison, although his lawyer is asking for time served for the 8 months already spent in jail when he has his sentencing hearing in November.

“Today he pleaded guilty because he is guilty,” Neuhaus’ lawyer, Johanna Zapp, told The Post. “I would be thrilled if he was home by Christmas.”  The attorney added that his client has a wife waiting for him in Switzerland, where he lives.

Government Sting Operation.  As was exclusively reported by The NYPost, Nuehaus and Kaufman were arrested in front of New York's Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side, after having been lured to Manhattan by an undercover FBI agent.  The G-man was posing as an unscrupulous money man with supposed access to a network of corrupt brokers. When they met the G-man told Kaufman and Neuhaus he would use their money to bribe a network of brokers to get Axius’ stock, which was priced around $3, to trade as high as $5 a share, prosecutors said.  To seal the deal, the agent convinced the 2 men to dine with him at the swank Upper East Side hotel. 

Initially, Neuhaus had been reluctant to come the U.S. because of his last brush with the SEC involving a decade-old shady stock deal.  Neuhaus also was involved in SpongeTech, an audacious scam that jilted dozens of sports venues, including Madison Square Garden and Citi Field, sources said.

Pleas.  Kaufman pled not guilty and currently is under house arrest in NY.  He was set to stand trial with Neuhaus on 1/28/13.  If prosecutors need Neuhaus to testify against Kaufman, he could remain in jail until the trial is over, a source told The Post.

For further details, go to:  [ The NYPost, 10/11/12 ].