Ontario’s Capital Markets Tribunal has banned another Canadian convicted of securities-related criminal charges in the U.S.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) filed an application seeking sanctions against Colin Heatherington — who was convicted on securities and wire fraud charges in a U.S. district court in California in 2024 — without giving him an opportunity to be heard.
According to the regulator’s filing, Heatherington, a former resident of British Columbia, pleaded guilty to, and was criminally convicted of, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in eight hedge funds based in Spain, from 2004 through June 2008.
Specifically, the OSC’s filing said that Heatherington was a trader at hedge fund firm, Absolute Capital Management Holdings, when he, along with others, used the funds to purchase billions of shares in U.S. penny stocks, and engaged in manipulative trading in those stocks to boost the funds’ NAV. The scheme ultimately cost investors almost US$216 million.
After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to 42 months in custody in the U.S., followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to jointly pay nearly US$215.9 million in restitution.
The OSC sought the order banning him in Ontario, citing the need to “restrain potential future misconduct by the respondent that exposes Ontario investors to unacceptable risks and to deter others from engaging in securities misconduct, including market manipulation.”
The tribunal granted the application, ordering that Heatherington is permanently banned from trading and registration.