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SEC sues National Pizza Corp. owner over stock scheme

July 6, 2004

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—Hershey Moss, owner of St. Louis-based National Pizza Corp., is being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly deceiving investors about his plans for an initial public offering.

According to Dow-Jones Newswires, Moss filed paperwork to take National Pizza public in 2002, claiming he wanted to build the business around frozen pizza. Instead, the SEC said he negotiated to sell the firm as a "shell" corporation and merge it with BSP Onelink, a private Internet travel company also seeking to go public.

The SEC claims Moss gained $620,000 in the entire deal.

Moss' scheme is one "way to skirt the usual requirements that a public company register its securities and go through the scrutiny that entails," said James Howell, a trial lawyer in the SEC's San Francisco office.

The SEC hasn't charged One Link.

Moss' attorney, Theodore Schwartz, said his client is not guilty.