(July 20 – 16:15) – A Canaccord Capital Corp. advisor has agreed to pay $25,000 in penalties and costs and give up $77,000 in commissions and fees for his involvement in the Gary Stanhiser and Excel stock fraud.
The B.C. Securities Commission announced a settlement with Canaccord broker John Johnston. The settlement imposes financial penalties and requires that Johnston pass the Conduct and Practices exam by May 31, 2001.
Johnston was the investment advisor for Stanhiser’s Excel group of companies and for more than 140 investors who opened accounts at Canaccord and purchased shares in Excel companies. Earlier this year Canaccord agreed to pay $428,000 in penalties and investigative costs to settle the case.
Stanhiser was a pastor with the Seventh Day Adventist Church who defrauded about 300 investors for $11 million, many of them church members in B.C. and California. The BCSC hit Stanhiser with a $100,000 penalty and banned him from the B.C. securities market for the rest of his life back in March.
In today’s settlement Johnston admitted he did not recognize that Stanhiser’s activities violated the Securities Act and as a result, he did not inform the individual investors that the scheme was illegal and their investments were at risk. Johnston said he did not attempt to conceal his participation with Stanhiser and the Excel companies from Canaccord management.
-IE Staff