The Ontario Securities Commission will consider settlement agreements reached with Affinity Financial Group Inc., International Structured Products Inc. (ISP), Affinity Restricted Securities Inc. (ARS), Dionysus Investments Ltd, Brian Keith McWilliams and Louis Sapi, on Wednesday, September 21, in Toronto.

OSC staff allege that Affinity and its related companies (ISP, ARS and Dionysus) engaged in unlicensed advising in securities by soliciting clients to invest in a product titled the “Rule 144 Loan Program”.

McWilliams, Lewis and Sapi, the principals of Affinity, are alleged to have authorized, permitted or acquiesced in Affinity’s breach.

The loan program involved sending investor funds to an entity in the United States called American Financial Group (AFG). Clients were led to believe that their funds would be used by AFG to make loans against restricted securities. In June of 2002, however, one of the principals of AFG disappeared and took the majority of the records relating to the program with him.

A receiver has been appointed by the American courts to attempt to locate and redistribute the investor funds entrusted to AFG, but to date no funds have been redistributed.

The terms of the settlement agreements are confidential until approved by the Commission.