Biography & Early Wealth Journey

BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images

Both Frost and OPKO Heath are named in the suit. The SEC believes that Frost allegedly participated in two of the three pump and dump schemes that earned him about $1.1 million. Frost has a net worth of $3.7 billion. In a statement, OPKO Health said that the SEC did not notify them of their plan to file a lawsuit and said the complaint was riddled with "serious factual inaccuracies." The company said that if the SEC had followed its own standard procedures, Frost and OPKO would have happily provided documentation that answered a number of the SEC's questions and cleared Frost and OPKO of the charges.

The pump and dump scheme was reportedly spearheaded by South Florida businessman Barry Honig. He is one of the biggest shareholders in the cryptocurrency company Riot Blockchain Inc. The virtual currency company's stock took a nosedive of 24.3% after the news of the fraud charges broke. Riot Blockchain was subpoenaed in April as part of a formal SEC investigation. Honig is believed to be the primary ringleader who asked the other defendants in the case to buy or sell stock, engage in promoting the companies, among other things. Honig allegedly made more than $3.4 million while running the pump and dump scheme.