H.J. Meyers

H. J. Meyers & Co, Inc. of Rochester, New York is a defunct investment banker that specialized in small cap/micro cap financings. It was originally known as Thomas James Associates, Inc before they acquired H.J. Meyers & Co, Inc. The firm had a reputation of being a boiler room that operated within the realm of unscrupulous polices, stock manipulation, fraudulent, high pressure sales tactics and excessive markups.

H. J. Meyers & Co, Inc. was originally founded by Harold "Bud" Meyers in Beverly Hills, California. A 33-year veteran of the securities industry, Meyers started out with Walston & Co. in Denver, before stints of Bache & Co. (now part of Prudential Bache), Loeb Rhoades (since absorbed by Shearson Lehman Hutton) and McDonald, Krieger, Boyer, the predecessor firm to Meyers. During the early 1990s, the firm was very active in underwriting small cap offerings, sometimes underwriting up to 3-4 deals a week or more. A memorable IPO was the Anergen Corporation, a biotech offering with little to no earnings which skyrocketed from around $6 per share to over $40 dollars per share within days. A short squeeze was to blame for the unnatural rise in the price of Anergen.

When acquired by Thomas James Associates, Inc, the firm began a downward descent. It was accused by the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD), now known as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), for massive stock violations. President James A. Villa abruptly shut down the firm after severe pressure from NASD regulators. James A. Villa & his wife live in Boca Raton, Florida and is protected from creditors by Florida's generous homestead exemption.