The operators of an alleged boiler room brokerage in the Toronto area are facing criminal fraud charges, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced on Thursday.

Sydney Klein of Vaughan, Ont. and Charles Joseph Makuto of Pefferlaw, Ont. have each been charged with one count of fraud under $5,000 after the OSC’s Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT) uncovered an alleged boiler room known as Dorchester International Group Inc. in Markham, Ont, the OSC reports.

JSOT, which is an enforcement partnership between the commission, the RCMP and the OP, executed a search warrant on Dorchester International back in April.

“Klein and Makuto used dormant shareholder lists to make fraudulent solicitations to investors by telephone. Victims were falsely told their worthless penny stock holdings may have future value and were solicited to purchase portfolio research reports that were of no value,” the OSC alleges.

The allegations have not been proven. The Klein and Makuto are scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 17, at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, Ont. to answer the charges.