The SEC has accused a California stock promoter, Imran Husain, and a New Jersey securities lawyer, Gregg Jaclin, of of making $2.25 million by creating and then selling sham companies, according to CFO.com. The commission said the pair created seven different companies that ultimately had nothing behind them, using false registration statements and financial reports to give the impression of legitimacy. The SEC said they would then sell these companies to unwitting investors, who were convinced they were real publicly traded businesses with real plans for growth. These hollow shells were hold for as little as $215,000 to as much as $425,000. The SEC said that they had been doing this since 2006. Husain, the stock promoter, had previously been convicted of obstructing an SEC investigation into one of these shell companies in 2014, said CFO.com.