An admitted fraudster was sentenced to two years in jail Thursday after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud, reports the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).

The OSC says that Michael Chomica was given a two year jail term in the Ontario Court of Justice in the wake of a guilty plea entered earlier this year over his participation in advance fee frauds.

It reports that he admitted to being the architect of two fraudulent advance-fee schemes that targeted investors in Ontario, Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa and Asia, and that he arranged for bank accounts to be used in a third fraudulent advance-fee scheme that primarily targeted investors in the UK.

In total, investors lost approximately $591,470 in combined U.S. and Canadian funds as a result of the three schemes, the commission says. The alleged schemes involved contacting investors that were holding illiquid securities and offering to sell those securities for them at a substantial premium, in exchange for an upfront fee.

The OSC said that, in some instances, representatives of the firms were impersonating OSC staff, and staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in an effort to convince investors to pay advance fees.

The commission first laid quasi-criminal charges against Michael Chomica, Jan Chomica, Peter Siklos and Anna Hrynisak over alleged securities law violations back in May 2012.

OSC charges four in alleged securities fraud

Chomica is also subject to a cease trade order (CTO) prohibiting him from trading in securities, which was first issued by the OSC in November 2010, and it has been renewed numerous times since then, most recently on March 7, when the order was extended to April 26, and a hearing was adjourned to April 25.

The initial order also cease traded Global Consulting and Financial Services, Crown Capital Management Corporation, Canadian Private Audit Service, Executive Asset Management, Jan Chomica, Peter Kuti (aka Peter Siklos) and Lorne Banks. Soon after it issued an asset freeze order, too.

Allegations against the others in this case have not been proven, they are due back before the court for scheduling on March 25.