Exec Fined $100,000 in Fraud Case

A fashion executive accused of manipulating 23 initial public offerings of various companies in the early 1990s was fined $100,000, U.S. regulators said.

Elliot Lavigne, former chairman of the Perry Ellis menswear division at Salant Corp., agreed to the fine in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

He did not admit or deny the SEC allegations, which were filed in a civil lawsuit last fall.

Lavigne was accused of securities fraud in connection with 23 IPO manipulations from 1991 through 1995, underwritten by Stratton Oakmont Inc., a broker-dealer in Lake Success, N.Y.

The SEC alleged Stratton employed Lavigne as a “nominee” who would receive the stock of an IPO and, after the start of trading, would sell the stock back to Stratton, which could inflate the prices.

Lavigne is former chief operating officer at Donna Karan Jeanswear and chief executive of Jordache Enterprises. He is currently president of OOC Apparel Inc.

As part of the settlement, Lavigne also was barred from serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded company for seven years, the SEC said.