Universal Express

{{Distinguish|Universal Express Pass}}

{{Infobox company

| hq_location_city = Boca Raton, Florida

| hq_location_country = United States

| key_people = Richard A. Altomare (CEO)

| defunct = {{End date|2007}}

}}

Universal Express (abbreviated USXP{{Cite web | url=https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-08-09/s70809-382a.pdf | title=Universal Express Inc., The Most Naked Shorted Stock in U.S. History - A Shareholder's Perspective | date=2007-10-18 | website=www.sec.gov}}) claimed to be a transportation and logistics service company and was registered in Nevada and headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida.[https://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/comp18636.htm Complaint: Universal Express, Inc., Richard Altomare, Chris Gunderson, Mark Neuhaus, George Sandhu, Spiga Limited, and Tarun Mendiratta.] However, investigation by the SEC clearly revealed that the primary business of USXP was the production of and distribution of billions of illegal, unregistered shares. The money from these sales went directly to support the lavish lifestyle of Richard Altomare and his supporters. Some funds were diverted to advertising designed to push the sale of additional shares.

Chief Executive Officer Richard A. Altomare took control of the defunct Packaging Plus Services in 1988, and he immediately began issuing billions of illegal and unregistered shares of stock, before the company collapsed in 2007. In later years, the company became known for accusations of naked short selling and questionable S.E.C. filings.Norris, Floyd, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/22/business/22norris.html "A Sad Tale of Fictional SEC Filings"], The New York Times, June 22, 2007Universal Express, Inc., [http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Universal-Express-CEO-Requests-Investigation-Into-Ex-Clearing-Portfolios-744620.htm "Universal Express CEO Requests Investigation Into Ex-Clearing Portfolios"], Marketwire, June 21, 2007 A receiver was appointed for Universal Express by a federal judge at the request of the S.E.C.{{cite web| url = http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/05/12/story4.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110128192731/http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2008/05/12/story4.html| archive-date = 2011-01-28| title = Former Universal Express CEO goes to federal prison {{!}} South Florida Business Journal}} The judge ordered Universal and its top officers to pay $21.9 million and barred them from future penny stock sales.Norris, Floyd, [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/23/business/23sec.html?scp=4&sq=universal+express&st=nyt "S.E.C. Requests Receiver for Universal Express"], The New York Times, June 23, 2007

Altomare was ordered to prison for contempt of court in April 2008.Norris, Floyd, [http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/21/jail-for-altomare/ "Jail for Altomare?"], The New York Times, Business Blog, April 21, 2008 In May, 2008,{{Cite web|url=http://norris.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/jail-day-for-altomare/|title = Jail Day for Altomare|date = 2 May 2008}} he was incarcerated in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City.[http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&LastName=Altomare&Middle=Alexande&FirstName=Richard&Race=W&Sex=M Search of the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator] Altomare has been barred from being an executive of any public company. A federal court judge, in finding that the company and its top officers had violated securities laws, called Altomare and Universal Express' general counsel, Chris Gunderson, "repeated and remorseless violators" of the securities laws.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/21/business/worldbusiness/21iht-norris.4.6267140.html|title = Resilience of fraud|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 21 June 2007|last1 = Norris|first1 = Floyd}} The Court ordered Universal Express to pay more than $9{{nbsp}}million in disgorgement for illegally obtained profits and an additional $9{{nbsp}}million in civil penalties as restitution for wrongdoing."[https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr-20165 SEC Seeks Appointment of Receiver To Operate Universal Express, Inc.]" U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.