The Ontario Securities Commission has withdrawn an enforcement case against a dead man.
The OSC said Wednesday that it has withdrawn allegations, first put forward in 2006, against William Rouse, who was accused of working for a boiler room brokerage, Maitland Capital Ltd. The OSC says that its staff has been advised that Rouse died last year, and so, as of Feb. 15, it has withdrawn its allegations against him.
Back in 2007, the Alberta Securities Commission found that the firm and various people involved with it, including Rouse, had violated securities law in Alberta. He received a three year trading ban from the ASC for his role.
In May 2011, the Ontario Court of Justice sentenced the two men behind the firm to 21 months in jail and two years probation after finding them guilty of 10 counts of violating Ontario securities laws. It also fined the firm $1 million. In March, the court found them guilty of running a boiler room operation, which raised approximately $5.5 million by selling Maitland shares through high pressure telephone sales tactics to investors throughout Canada and in other countries.