The Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) new Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT) has scored another notch in its belt.
The commission said Wednesday that a man has been charged with alleged breaches of securities law following an investigation by its JSOT, an enforcement partnership between the OSC and the RCMP that was established in May in order to step up enforcement and bolster investor protection.
Vernon Smith of Barrie, Ont. has been charged with one count of trading without registration and one count of advising without registration. He was also charged with trading while he was subject to a cease trade order by the commission.
The allegations have not been proven. The first court appearance in the case is scheduled for Dec. 11, at Old City Hall in Toronto.
Late last month, the first action following a JSOT investigation was announced by Toronto police, which arrested and charged a Toronto man amid allegations that he defrauded investors of more than $7 million in a foreign currency trading scheme. (See Investment Executive, Toronto man charged in $7 million forex fraud, October 28, 2013). The allegations in that case have not been proven either.
“We are pleased to see momentum by the JSOT, working jointly with the RCMP in this new alliance to protect investors from harm. This case demonstrates that the JSOT will aggressively pursue offenders who do not abide by our cease trade orders,” said Tom Atkinson, director of enforcement at the OSC.
The commission notes that the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) and the German regulator, known as BaFin (German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) assisted the JSOT’s investigation.