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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has won a permanent ban and $1.49-million in civil penalties against Guy Jean-Pierre, a Florida lawyer the regulator accused of fraudulently writing opinions to the pink sheets in his niece's name. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) His "egregious and brazen" conduct came as he wrote letters that allowed several companies, including Toronto's Cannon Exploration Inc., to issue free-trading stock. He wrote the letters using the name of another lawyer, his niece, because the pink sheets had banned him from preparing such documents.

The sanctions are contained in a default judgment entered on Monday, March 9, by New York Judge Lorna Schofield, and a magistrate's report dated Dec. 3, 2014. Mr. Jean-Pierre's penalty includes disgorgement of $62,000, representing the fees he collected, plus a civil penalty of $1,425,000. In addition, the judge has permanently banned him from participating in penny stock offerings. The decision is a judgment by default, Mr. Jean-Pierre having failed to respond to the case.

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