Regulators in Ontario have issued orders banning securities law violators that have been similarly sanctioned by the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC).
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued reciprocal orders in two cases, imposing its own permanent market bans that echo orders handed down by the BCSC in the wake of enforcement hearings.
In one case, the OSC permanently banned Won Sang Shen Cho (also known as Craig Cho), and his firms, Chosen Media and Groops Media, after the BCSC found that they committed securities fraud and carried out an illegal distribution.
Last year, the BCSC banned Cho and the two firms, along with imposing monetary sanctions, for violations that were proven at a regulatory hearing. Now, based on the BCSC’s findings in the case, the OSC has imposed its own market ban, saying it finds “that it is necessary to protect Ontario investors and the integrity of Ontario’s capital markets to impose market conduct restrictions against the respondents.”
The OSC also imposed a permanent ban against Paul Lester Stiles after the BCSC found that he attempted to carry out securities fraud by making “blatant and serious” misrepresentations to prospective investors. The BCSC ordered that he be banned from the markets in B.C., along with imposing an administrative penalty. Again, the OSC relied on the BCSC’s findings in imposing its own sanctions, saying it is necessary to protect investors in Ontario too.
In both cases the respondents did not appear, or present evidence, to oppose the bans.