SEC Sues Canoga Park Investment Operation

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday filed an emergency lawsuit to shut down what it alleged was a boiler room operation that was deceiving investors into believing that former U.S. Surgeon Gen. C. Everett Koop and NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw had endorsed certain companies. The Canoga Park operation, which authorities claim bilked investors out of $5 million, said Koop and Brokaw had endorsed obesity clinics being marketed through it. In its suit, the SEC named defendants David A. Colvin of Chatsworth; Job Kjell Hovik of Carlsbad, Calif.; Lamar Ellis of Pomona; and John Larson of Los Angeles. Through the operation, the men sold securities in an obesity drug company, Medical Advantage Inc.; alcohol and drug detoxification firm Lamelli Inc.; and Wall Street Research Co.