SECURITIES

SEC Accuses Firm of Fraud: The Securities and Exchange Commission accused a brokerage firm of manipulating a stock and defrauding investors in at least 13 states, including California, while selling securities by telephone. In a civil lawsuit, the SEC accused Stratton Oakmont Inc. of Lake Success, N.Y., and five current or former employees of making at least $11 million by manipulating the stock of one company. The lawsuit claims that the firm ran a large “boiler-room” operation in which brokers operating by telephone misrepresented stocks to investors and engaged in unauthorized trading. Stratton, which deals in over-the-counter stocks, said it would defend itself and called the charges “a rehash of stale allegations.”