A federal judge ordered a former Oregon man accused of defrauding investors through an online stock scheme to pay almost $2 million.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alerted to the scheme by an article published in The Oregonian in 2006, alleged that Nicholas Czuczko, formerly of Lake Oswego, used a Web site called The Stockster (www.thestockster.com) to promote thinly traded "penny stocks" in what's typically referred to as a pump-and-dump scheme.

The SEC alleged Czuczko owned stock in the dozens of companies he featured between December 2005 and April 2006 and unloaded those shares when attention generated by the Web site pushed up share prices. The investors who bought the pitch were often left with losses when the hype cooled and share prices returned to their super-cheap levels.

U.S. District Judge Otis Wright said Czuczko must pay roughly $1.8 million, including "ill-gotten gains" from the scheme valued at $1.6 million.

The Oregonian reported that Czuczko now lives in Beverly Hills, Calif., and did not respond to e-mail seeking comment Thursday.

Czuczko did not dispute the SEC's allegations and in August he agreed to a federal court injunction that ordered him not to violate security laws and to stay away from promoting or selling penny stocks.

The Web site stopped offering stock picks after the SEC brought its case against Czuczko, but it is active again.

The identity of the site's current ownership is hidden, but an unsigned message on The Stockster's home page reads: "I'm proud to spearhead a new team steeped in expertise and knowledge on how to cash in on the unlimited potential of penny stocks."