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by Mike Caswell

Michael Randles, a Canadian defendant in the Moneyline Brokers pump-and-dump case, has pleaded guilty, admitting to facilitating securities fraud through offshore transactions. He entered the plea in a 33-minute appearance on Friday, Oct. 21, before Virginia Judge Anthony Trenga. The judge set his sentencing for Jan. 25, 2017.

The charge to which Mr. Randles pleaded guilty is a single count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. That count is related to the pump-and-dump of a company called Bryn Resources Inc. The count carries a maximum jail term of five years, followed by three years of supervised release. Prosecutors dismissed the remaining charge against him.

The guilty plea comes just weeks before Mr. Randles's trial, which was scheduled to begin on Nov. 7, 2016. Prosecutors had accused him of helping run Moneyline, a Costa Rican entity, as it carried out market manipulations and other frauds on the U.S. markets in 2009 and 2010. Among other things, the firm aided promotional campaigns and anonymously sold shares through U.S. brokerages on behalf of others. The stocks in the scheme included Bryn Resources (a Toronto company that claimed to be exploring for gold in Nova Scotia) and Everock Inc. (a subpenny mining company that was once domiciled in Ontario).

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