Individuals and entities who purchased stock in the public entity identified below during the Relevant Period and suffered a loss as a result of the conduct described in the Complaint in the above Civil Action, may be eligible for a distribution from the Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund (the "Fair Fund").

In addition to reviewing the information on this website, you should review the Distribution Plan Notice and the Distribution Plan approved by the Court, both of which you can find on the “Important Documents” tab on this website.

You should visit this website often to get the most up-to-date information on the Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund.

Overview

The Civil Action

On March 5, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) filed a Complaint against Jeffrey O. Friedland (“Friedland”), Global Corporate Strategies, LLC (“Global’), and Intivia Pharma LLC (“Intivia”), (collectively the “Defendants”), and Lane 6552 LLC (“Lane”), Kathy B. Friedland, Assurance Management, LLC (“Assurance”) and The Jeffrey and Kathy Friedland Irrevocable Trust (“Friedland Trust”), (collectively the “Relief Defendants”) alleging violations of the federal securities laws.  (ECF No. 1).  Specifically, the Complaint alleged that, Friedland engaged in a nearly $7 million securities fraud scheme to conceal the nature of his interest in an Israeli medical marijuana company, OWC Pharmaceutical Research Corp. (“OWCP”), to allow him to sell his considerable holdings in OWCP stock into a market that he helped artificially inflate.  As part of his scheme, Friedland touted OWCP to investors while misrepresenting both the nature of his investments in OWCP and his professional relationship with the company.  Between August 2014 and February 2016, Friedland acquired 6.4 million shares of OWCP stock.  Between February 2016 and September 2017, Friedland touted OWCP to the media, industry and investors, creating the false impression that he was merely an investor in OWCP, when he was in fact paid with millions of OWCP stock to promote the company, which he did via emails, interviews and public appearances.  While he was touting OWCP, Friedland, with the help of his wife, Kathy, directly or indirectly, sold millions of his OWCP stock through entities he owned and controlled with his wife. In total, Friedland received nearly $7 million from his illegal sales of the OWCP stock he acquired as an early investor and as compensation for agreeing to handle OWCP’s media and investor relations for two years.  Friedland and his wife used the proceeds to purchase homes, cars, pay off credit card debt, invest in a family trust and a foundation, to make transfers to family-owned entities and associates and investments in a brokerage account in the name of Lane. 

Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund

On December 4, 2019, after the parties reached a settlement, the Court entered a Judgment against the Defendants.  (ECF No. 95).  The Judgment found Friedland and Global jointly and severally liable in the amount of $2,089,979.02, plus pre-judgment interest in the amount of $69,020.98; found Friedland further liable for a civil penalty in the amount of $2,000,000; found Intiva liable for disgorgement in the amount of $20,000; for a total amount of $4,179,000. 

The Judgment also incorporated a provision allowing for the establishment of a Fair Fund for harmed investors under Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to distribute the monies recovered from the Defendants to harmed investors. ECF No. 95 ¶ 5 (incorporating by reference Section V of ECF No. 92-2).  The relevant provision states, in part, that the Commission may propose a plan to distribute the funds paid under the Judgment “subject to the Court’s approval;” that “such a plan may provide that the [funds paid under the Judgment] shall be distributed pursuant to the Fair Fund provisions of Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act;” and that the “Court shall retain jurisdiction over the administration of any distribution” of the funds.  ECF No. 92-2, Section V, p. 5.   

Defendants have paid the full amount of $4,179,000 ordered pursuant to the Judgment.  These funds, including interest earned to date, are currently held in an interest-bearing account at the Bureau of Fiscal Services of the U.S. Treasury Department (the “Fair Fund”).  

The Distribution Plan, the Tax Administrator, and the Distribution Agent

On May 4, 2020, the United States District Court, District of Colorado appointed Miller Kaplan Arase LLP as Tax Administrator, and on April 6, 2021, appointed JND Legal Administration as Distribution Agent (the “Distribution Agent”).  

On December 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado approved a plan for the distribution of the Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund (the “Plan”).  The Plan governs the administration and distribution of the Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund and sets forth the method and procedures for distributing the assets of the Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund to investors harmed by the conduct alleged in the Complaint. The Plan can be found under the “Important Documents” tab of this website.

Claims

If you purchased the security set forth above during the Relevant Period and would like to be considered for eligibility for a distribution from the Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund, you must submit a completed Proof of Claim Form (“Claim Form”), including adequate supporting documentation and a completed tax certification, to the Distribution Agent no later than June 6, 2022.

How do I obtain more information?

Additional information can be found by visiting the “Important Documents” tab or the “Frequently Asked Questions” tab visible at the top of this webpage. If you have questions not answered through this website, you may contact the Distribution Agent toll-free at 1-877-379-5985, by email at info@jeffreyfriedlandfairfund.com, or by mail at: 

Jeffrey Friedland Fair Fund
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO Box 91436
Seattle, WA 98111

To view the official SEC website for the Jeffrey Friedland Fair Find, please visit www.sec.gov/divisions/enforce/claims/friedland.htm.