The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reports that it has filed a complaint against Canadian firm, Bennett Environmental Inc., and several individuals.

The SEC reported that it filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against BEI, and three of its former executives for their roles in what the SEC alleges was the repeated dissemination of false and misleading information concerning a Superfund soil remediation contract awarded to the company in 2003.

In its complaint, the SEC alleges that between June 2003 and April 2004, the executives caused the firm to issue seven press releases, which misrepresented and exaggerated the value of a contract.

The SEC reports that the firm and the executives consented, without admitting or denying the allegations, to the entry of a final judgment permanently enjoining them from violating securities laws. Two of them also agreed to civil penalties and agreed to be barred from acting as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years.