A Toronto man has been ordered to serve 90 days in jail, three years of probation, and to pay restitution, after admitting to defrauding a senior citizen in an investment scheme.
Sydney Lederman was sentenced after pleading guilty to a charge of fraud over $5,000 in connection with a scheme that involved selling securities in Bridgestone Resources Exploration Ltd. between 2013 and 2015, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced on Wednesday.
“The victim was a senior citizen who paid $90,000 for securities that Mr. Lederman fraudulently claimed were worth $3 million but, in fact, were worthless as Bridgestone Resources Exploration Ltd. is defunct,” the OSC says in a news release.
“Mr. Lederman used the funds received for his personal use. No funds were recovered,” the regulator adds.
Lederman pled guilty on Feb. 20, and was sentenced by Justice M. Wong of the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on April 13, the OSC notes.
The charges were brought following an investigation by the OSC’s Joint Serious Offences Team, which represents an enforcement partnership between the OSC, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ontario Provincial Police.