SEC Investigating Wet Seal Stock Sales

La Senza Corp., the Montreal-based retailer headed by former Wet Seal Inc. Chairman Irving Teitelbaum, said Monday that U.S. securities regulators began a formal investigation into sales of Wet Seal shares.

Wet Seal said in February that the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched an informal probe into the sale of stock in 2004 by La Senza.

Teitelbaum, La Senza’s chief executive, also was chairman of Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal from June 1984 to August 2004.

Teitelbaum and La Senza President Stephen Gross received subpoenas April 22 asking for documents related to the sale of Wet Seal shares by La Senza in 2004 and by Teitelbaum, Gross and related firms this year, La Senza said in a Canadian filing reporting the formal probe.

La Senza sold more than $15 million worth of Wet Seal shares in July. La Senza said the sale was part of a plan to get out of the women’s-wear business. The stock ended that month at $5.10.

On Aug. 20, Wet Seal shares plunged 59%, to 85 cents, after the firm reported a $102.8-million second-quarter loss. The stock has since rebounded somewhat, to $3.57 on Nasdaq on Monday, down 17 cents for the day.

Teitelbaum and Gross each sold Wet Seal stock valued at about $1.55 million between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, SEC filings show.

Neither Teitelbaum nor Wet Seal returned calls for comment. A spokeswoman for the SEC declined to comment.