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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has secured $700,000 in penalties against Jammin' Java Corp., the company at the centre of a $78-million pump-and-dump scheme allegedly run by Kelowna's Shane Whittle. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The company has agreed to pay the money to settle claims that it facilitated the distribution of unregistered shares. In agreeing to the payment, the company has not admitted any wrongdoing.

The deal with the SEC comes about six months after the regulator filed civil charges against Jammin' Java and nine individuals for a 2011 scheme in which the stock went to a $6.35 high. The SEC said that a group of promoters boosted the company with false news releases and fraudulent on-line reports. At the same time, offshore entities sold $78-million worth of stock, the SEC claimed.

Jammin' Java, which remains an active company, initially denied any wrongdoing. In an answer filed on Jan. 19, 2016, the company distanced itself from Mr. Whittle, its one-time chief executive officer and the man who the SEC claims ran the scheme. Jammin' Java said that he had resigned in May, 2010, long before the alleged pump-and-dump. His last association with Jammin' Java ended in May, 2012, with the termination of a consulting agreement.

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