Mark E. Fisher, 53, a former Boca Raton lawyer at Fisher Law Firm, and stock promoter Joseph F. Capuozzo from Davie face criminal charges over their alleged involvement in a securities fraud scheme in 2014, which involved the manipulation of shares in a beauty products company, Valentine Beauty Inc. in Sunrise.

According to court documents filed Oct. 22 by the US Attorney’s Office the pair was part of a group that distributed fake news releases about VLBI to give the impression business was better than it was. That caused stock prices to rise, and they sold their shares for $1 million.