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by Mike Caswell

Colin Heatherington, the Victoria man facing civil fraud charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for his role in a $63-million market manipulation, denies any wrongdoing. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Without providing any details, he responds to the allegations by saying that he relied on the advice of professional accountants and compliance personnel. He also says that the courts in California, where the SEC filed the case, do not have jurisdiction.

The charges against Mr. Heatherington stem from a scheme to manipulate six stocks between 2005 and 2007. He and his co-defendants drove up the companies with wash trades, in one case sending a stock from $3.20 to $12.99 in minutes. They then sold $63-million worth of overpriced stock, at least partly to hedge funds controlled by Absolute Capital Management Ltd. of London, the SEC claimed. The trading left the funds with $440-million worth of illiquid stocks. One of Mr. Heatherington's co-defendants, Spanish resident Florian Homm, worked at Absolute Capital until the scheme came to an end.

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