SEC sues over alleged hoax Avon buyout bid

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday accused a Bulgarian man of being an architect behind hoaxes that fraudulently drove up share prices of Avon Products Inc. and two other companies through bogus takeover bids.

The suit against Nedko Nedev, 37, of Sofia, Bulgaria, and several corporate defendants alleges a firm calling itself PTG Capital Partners offered on May 14 to buy Avon for $18.75 per share, a 181 percent premium, in a move to drive up shares of the company. Indeed, the cosmetic company's shares rose 20 percent on the news, according to Reuters.

According to the suit, Nedev and others allegedly manipulated prices of Avon, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. and Tower Group International Ltd.

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