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by Mike Caswell

Former Vancouver broker Tom Coldicutt and his wife, who are facing combined sanctions of up to $15-million from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a shell-selling scheme, say the proposed penalty is grossly unfair. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) They contend that they only received $2.9-million selling the shells. They also point out that the scheme caused no harm to investors.

The proposed penalty stems from the Coldicutts' alleged sale of a number of OTC Bulletin Board shell companies between 2006 and 2011. The SEC claimed that the couple used a network of nominee officers and directors to create 15 purported mining companies. Mr. Coldicutt then sold the companies as shells for prices between $225,000 and $765,000, the SEC said.

The Coldicutts agreed to settle the charges on April 15, 2014, without a trial. They accepted permanent officer and director bans as as well as permanent penny stock bans. The couple did not admit to any wrongdoing in settling the case. The only remaining issue is the size of their fine, which the judge must determine.

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