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by Mike Caswell

Former Vancouver promoter Jonathan Curshen, 47, has received 16 months in jail in New York on securities fraud and bribery charges. The sentence, handed down by Judge Leonard Sand at a hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 13, includes two years of probation and participation in a mental health program.

The sentence comes three years after the FBI arrested Mr. Curshen in a broker bribery sting. According to prosecutors, he paid a kickback to an undercover agent called "Charlie Moore" who was posing as a person with access to corrupt brokers. The agent agreed to have the brokers buy shares of Industrial Biotechnology Corp., a Washington State pink sheets listing that Mr. Curshen had been paid to promote. Mr. Curshen pleaded guilty to the charges in June, 2009.

Prosecutors sought 21 to 27 months for the promoter, saying the scheme was essentially a classic pump-and-dump. Mr. Curshen and others sought to artificially drive up Industrial Biotechnology's price, cash out their stock and leave defrauded investors holding overvalued shares. Moreover, the scheme was sufficiently complex that it warranted severe punishment, the government contended.

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