United Sports International Executive Quits

One day after being accused of running a stock-manipulation scheme, Lambert D. Vander Tuig resigned as president of United Sports International Inc., the Irvine-based company said. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Vander Tuig on Tuesday with manipulating the stock of Fastlane Footwear Inc., a small Michigan shoemaker that specializes in automotive-theme garb, in 1996. In May, United Sports, which makes snowboards, wakeboards and skateboards, offered to buy at least 50% of Fastlane Footwear and its wholly owned subsidiary Jebco Inc. But “deadlines and obligations� were not met by a May 25 deadline and the talks ended, according to a statement by James W. France, chairman of Fastlane. Vander Tuig could not be reached for comment, and officials at United Sports did not return calls. The SEC alleges that Vander Tuig, 40, a Coto de Caza resident and a former licensed securities professional, pushed the price of Fastlane stock to $4.88 per share, a 56% boost, through a series of sham trades. He then proceeded to dump the stock, “selling 103,767 shares to retail investors, causing the price of the stock to plummet nearly 75% to $1.25 per share,� according to regulators’ charges. United Sports was not mentioned in the SEC complaint against Vander Tuig. United Sports said in a statement that Henry Bosma will serve as interim president.