Regulators froze the shares of Wheat Ridge-based energy drink provider DC Brands International and more than 30 other penny-stock companies as they seek to crack down on e-mail promoters who engage in pump-and-dump scams.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, calling its probe "Operation Spamalot," said the trading suspensions unveiled Thursday will help protect investors from getting burned by e-mail hype.

DC Brands, whose Dickens Energy Cider includes the special ingredient "horny goat weed," has denied that it took part in any effort to fraudulently tout its stock.

"I only ask that they bring their largest magnifying glass and shine it on us first because we are 100 percent legitimate," CEO Richard Pearce said in a news release issued after the SEC's announcement.

In a telephone interview later in the day, Pearce said he understands "the SEC has a job to do" and that his company "fits the profile" of a penny stock sitting at the center of a scheme in which promoters pump up a stock with glowing commentary and then dump the shares before they fall.

The stock, he noted, rose from 3 cents to more than 30 cents in a short span. It was last trading at 23 cents.

"It's like saying the police are looking for someone 6-feet-2, 220 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes who robbed a liquor store. A million people fit that profile," Pearce said, repeating the comments in the news release.

The head of DC Brands, which also sells the Turn Left Energy drink, said in a news release a week ago that "we are ethical and above board." He also blasted critics who had "the audacity to accuse us" of inappropriate promotion.

Pearce has used colorful language in his news releases to describe his company.

"Right now, we are the prettiest girl in the bar and everybody is drinking," he said in one release.

Asked about his reports overflowing with enthusiasm and positive outlooks, Pearce explained, "that's the way I am. I wear it all on my sleeves.

"The statements are true," he said. "What would you say if you were losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and suddenly things turn around and head the other way?"

But Pearce declined to disclose any figures to support his claims of a sharp turnaround and said his company does not file financial reports with the SEC.

The last report on the Pink Sheets Web site showed a net loss of more than $122,000 for the third quarter of last year.

DC Brands remains in the red, Pearce said, yet revenue has risen significantly. Costs have increased, too, he said.

The SEC did not say DC Brands itself was involved in the e-mail spam.

Helene Glotzer, associate director of the SEC's northeast regional office, said she could not talk about DC Brands or any other company. She said the SEC has seen cases in which penny-stock executives are the victims and others in which the officials are the perpetrators.

The trading suspensions will last 10 days, the SEC said.

Freezing the shares to protect investors is a first step. Pursuing the promoters is the second.

"When spam clogs our mailboxes, it's annoying," SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in announcing the news Thursday. "When it rips off investors, it's illegal and destructive. Today's trading suspensions and actions that follow should send a clear message to spammers: the SEC will hold you accountable."

patonj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2544