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by Mike Caswell

Shane Whittle, the Kelowna man charged in the United States for the pump-and-dump of Jammin' Java Corp., denies that he did anything wrong. Mr. Whittle, 40, has filed his answer to a civil complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in which the regulator accused him and others of boosting the stock with misleading news and fraudulent on-line reports. Offshore entities sold $78-million worth of shares during the scheme, the SEC says. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

Mr. Whittle's answer to the charges, filed on May 6, 2016, contains no details. In response to nearly every paragraph of the complaint he either denies any wrongdoing or denies knowing about the specific allegation. He does admit to some non-controversial items, such as share prices and the existence of news releases, but denies participating in any pump-and-dump.

The denials of Mr. Whittle come about six months after the SEC charged him and others for the scheme. He and the others touted Jammin' Java as a coffee company that had a licence to use the trademarks of the late singer Bob Marley, the regulator claimed. The stock went to a high of $6.35, while several offshore entities sold millions of shares, according to the SEC.

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