The B.C. Securities Commission has barred a local promoter from the securities markets for five years for being criminally convicted of stealing $10,000 US in a securities transaction.

Adamo Guerrini was also banned from acting as a director or officer of any issuer and from engaging in investor relations activities for five years.

In August 1997, Guerrini was employed at an investor relations firm and promoting the shares of an American company, Ultimate Cigar Co.

Guerrini offered to buy 40,000 shares of Ultimate Cigar for his victim — a friend of his. The victim gave US$10,000 US to Guerrini so he could purchase the shares and deposit them in the victim’s account at a local brokerage firm. Guerrini did neither.

Instead, Guerrini used some of the money for his own personal use. None of the money Guerrini received was used to buy Ultimate Cigar shares for his friend.

On June 8, 1999, Guerrini pled guilty to theft and was sentenced on Sept. 13, 1999, in B.C. provincial court to one day in jail and a $5,000 fine. Just before he was sentenced, Guerrini repaid the victim the entire US$10,000.

In imposing the five-year ban the commission panel said: “In our view any conduct relating to trading in securities that results in a criminal conviction is a very serious matter that necessarily undermines the integrity of our capital markets.”

While the panel noted that Guerrini did not ultimately benefit from the theft and has “paid the heavy price of having a criminal conviction,” the panel concluded that his conduct showed that Guerrini “would pose a real risk to the integrity of these markets.”