The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged BMA Ventures and its president, William Kepler, with engaging in a fraudulent "scalping" scheme that netted them an estimated $1.9 million. According to the SEC, the defendants flooded fax machines across the country with newsletters that touted the stock of 26 small companies, but then BMA Ventures sold shares of those companies as the faxes were being sent or shortly after. Filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the suit also claims that BMA Ventures violated federal investment adviser registration provisions by registering with the SEC even though it did not meet the minimum registration requirements. The agency is seeking permanent injunctions against BMA Ventures and Kepler as well disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil monetary penalties and bar from dealing in penny stocks.