This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has suspended Robert Weaver, a San Diego lawyer charged with aiding a shell selling scheme run by former Vancouver broker Tom Coldicutt. The SEC says Mr. Weaver wrote opinion letters, served as securities counsel and helped prepare misleading SEC filings. He also personally created and financed one of the shells, according to the SEC.

Mr. Weaver's suspension comes just months after a judge fined Mr. Coldicutt and his wife $5.4-million for the scheme. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC said they improperly sold 15 OTC Bulletin Board shells between 2006 and 2011. Mr. Coldicutt created the shells as purported mining issuers to obtain a listing, then sold them for prices as high as $760,000. He hid his involvement by using a network of hand-picked nominee officers and directors, according to the SEC.

The role of Mr. Weaver, as described by the SEC, was to provide legal advice to Mr. Coldicutt. At the time of the scheme he had been a lawyer for nearly 30 years and had known Mr. Coldicutt for about 20 years. Among other things, he served as the lawyer for three of Mr. Coldicutt's shells and served as the sole officer and director for one of them, according to the SEC. In that capacity, he repeatedly made false and misleading filings, the SEC says.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS