SEC suspends trading in Patchogue company making claims for Ebola areas

The Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday said it suspended trading in four companies, including Bravo Enterprises of Patchogue, to prevent efforts to boost share prices with claims of products related to the Ebola outbreak.

The companies, whose stocks trade for pennies, were cited by the agency for not providing adequate information about their operations.

"We move quickly to protect investors when we see thinly traded stocks being promoted with questionable information that makes them ripe for pump-and-dump schemes," said Elisha Frank, co-chair of the SEC enforcement division's microcap fraud task force.

Bravo Enterprises, which says it has developed a system to harvest drinking water from the air, issued a news release in August saying its technology could ease shortages in Liberia and other Ebola-stricken areas. The company, whose stock was trading at a fraction above 1 cent before the suspension, did not return a call seeking comment.

The other companies whose trading was suspended are Monrovia, California-based Immunotech Laboratories Inc., Toronto-based Myriad Interactive Media Inc., and Anaheim, California-based Wholehealth Products Inc.