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by Mike Caswell

Ed Durante, the Vancouver-linked man in jail on market manipulation charges in New York, has pleaded guilty. He entered the plea in an appearance on Tuesday, Aug. 23, before Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck. The judge ordered that he remain in custody, and set his sentencing for Nov. 28, 2016.

Prosecutors claim that Mr. Durante, 64, and others manipulated a pink sheets listing called VGTel Inc. He told investors that the stock could go to $50. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Then, with the help of others, he convinced a group of mostly unsophisticated investors to buy millions of dollars worth of shares.

Mr. Durante carried out the scheme using the alias Ted Wise, employing the false name after a prior fraud conviction. That conviction arose from the manipulation of another company, Wamex Holdings Inc. (In that scheme, he boosted the stock to $19.50 from $1.375 through massive promotional campaigns and heavy trading through offshore entities. Former Vancouver brokerage Union Securities Ltd. figured into the scheme, with its White Rock branch handling some of Mr. Durante's orders. Mr. Durante served 10 years in jail on Wamex-related charges.)

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