The biggest money laundering case in Canadian history, only it isn’t taking place in Canada The US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a proposed amended complaint on February 3, 2022, in the US District Court of Massachusetts in case of SEC v. Frederick Sharp, Avtar Dhillon, Zhiying Chen, Courtney Kelln, Michael Veldhuis, Paul Sexton, Jackson Friesen, […]
Ponzi scheme is 101 years old A lot has been written about Ponzi schemes, but did you know that the Ponzi scheme seems to have had its genesis in Canada? Since this December is the 101st anniversary of the conviction of Charles Ponzi, its probably a good time to explore the Canadian side of the […]
In 1988, Madam Justice Southin, as she then was, was judging a massive pump and dump case involving microcap issuers that was orchestrated in Vancouver, United Services Funds (Trustee of) v. Lazzell [1988] B.C.J. No. 743, 28 B.C.L.R. (2d) 26. Although 33 years old, the case should be required reading for capital markets participants for […]
SEC complaint The US Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC“) filed charges against three Canadians, four Americans and nine private companies in the US District Court for the Southern District of California, for numerous violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, for alleged manipulative market behaviour, including pump […]
The US Attorney in Florida today announced that a Canadian, Brooks Thomas Nesbitt, was sentenced to 10 years in jail after pleading guilty to wire fraud in connection with a money laundering securities fraud scheme. Nesbitt, originally from Thornhill, Ontario, ran several boiler room operations with another Canadian, Mary Kathryn Marr, which took in over […]
Two more men involved in a digital currency exchange and a digital currency, were murdered in Mexico. Their bodies were recently found stuffed in suitcases in Sinaloa cartel land, according to this newspaper article. The two, Oscar Brito from Chile and Ignacio Ibarra from Argentina, were involved in selling and promoting the digital currency called […]
The proceeds of crime from a massive US$550 million Ponzi scheme perpetrated by two convicted fraudsters in the US – Kevin Merrill and Jay Ledford – are being auctioned at an online auction house starting next week, in part because of Covid-19. Diamonds, sports memorabilia, art, gold coins, comic book from securities fraud being sold […]
This case wins first prize as the most unusual financial crime case of 2019. It’s about Dawn J. Bennett, a former stock broker from Maryland, who first worked with Western International Securities. In addition to selling securities, Bennett was a financial expert on a radio show where she dispensed investment advice and believed that she […]
The founder of a digital currency exchange lied so much to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“) during its investigation and to a California Court, and made himself so not credible, that a Court has recommended one of the harshest remedies available – to deprive the defendant of the constitutional right to be heard – […]
A Canadian, possibly Iranian Canadian, pled guilty in New York today to conspiracy and securities fraud in connection with a scheme where fake securities of tech companies, such as Twitter and Uber, were sold to investors who suffered losses of US$18 million. Fred Elm, whose real name is Frederic Elmaleh from Toronto, led an investment […]