.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
.vresize.36.36.medium.0.png){kind=small}
The 1993 movie "Rudy" portrays a plucky Daniel Ruettiger determined to overcome long odds and his diminutive stature to earn a walk-on role on Notre Dame's college football team.
In a settlement announced Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission portrays Ruettiger in a less-favorable light.
The SEC alleged that Ruettiger was a key participant in a so-called pump-and-dump stock scheme that generated more than $11 million in illicit profits for a now-defunct soft-drink company, Rudy Nutrition.
The SEC charged that Ruettiger and 12 others participated in a scheme to provide false and misleading statements about their company in news releases, SEC filings and promotional materials. The false and misleading statements, which included exaggerated claims about their "Rudy" sports drink, were designed to boost the price of the company's stock and allow the participants to sell their shares at inflated prices, the SEC said.
An attorney for Ruettiger couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Ruettiger agreed to pay $382,866 to settle the SEC's charges, along with 10 others who agreed to settle, the SEC said. The agency is still pursuing litigation against two other individuals.
"Investors were lured into the scheme by Ruettiger's well-known, feel-good story but found themselves in a situation that did not have a happy ending," said Scott Friestad, Associate Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement."
