Stansberry & Associates Investment Research, LLC

An investment newsletter's publisher and its editor have been hit with $1.5 million in financial penalties after a U. S. federal judge determined they defrauded their own subscribers in a securities scam. Judgment in favor of the Securities Exchange Commission and against Maryland-based Pirate Investor LLC, now called Stansberry & Associates Investment Research, LLC, and Frank Porter Stansberry was issued at the U. S. District Court for the District of Maryland on August 1, 2007 - 28 months after the completion of a bench trial. The penalty comprises disgorgement of $1.3 million in profits and interest from the fraudulent activity, for which Pirate Investor and Stansberry are jointly and severally liable, plus a fine of $120,000 against each defendant.