The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a Florida investor relations firm with fraudulently promoting the sale of shares of a St. George company that lied about having a $25 million contract with the federal government.

The SEC filed a civil lawsuit against Big Apple Consulting, its subsidiary MJMM Investments and four executives. The suit says the companies and executives illegally sold shares and continued to sell them even after learning CyberKey Solutions Inc. of St. George did not have a contract with the Department of Homeland Securities as it claimed.

CyberKey purported to sell flash memory drives and other electronic devices.

Big Apple sold hundreds of millions of CyberKey shares that it promoted to brokers through a call center, the SEC said.

The federal agency is seeking the return of all monies from the stock sales, a permanent injunction against further violations and other penalties.

CyberKey's former CEO, James E. Plant, started serving a 97 month federal prison term in March for his part in the fraud. He was indicted in federal court in Pennsylvania.

Tom Harvey