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by Mike Caswell

A Boston judge has imposed a three-year jail term on Roger "Rocket" Knox, the U.K. man who helped multiple pump-and-dumps through his Swiss operation, including at least four linked to Vancouver. Prosecutors said that Mr. Knox's "staggering securities fraud scheme" generated $150-million in illegal gains, defrauding 20,000 victims. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Over a six-year period, Mr. Knox allowed hidden insiders to repeatedly unload shares on the U.S. markets.

Mr. Knox, 53, received the sentence in an appearance on Friday, Oct. 13, before Judge Nathaniel Gorton. In addition to three years in jail and one year of supervised release, Mr. Knox is subject to a $10.9-million forfeiture order. He must also pay restitution, in an amount that will be determined at a later date.

The sentence is more than a victory for prosecutors, who had asked that the judge send Mr. Knox to jail for 32 months. They referred to his scheme as a "massive global securities fraud" that involved nominee entities, encrypted communications networks, code names and fake documentation. Mr. Knox made money by charging fees to insiders who sought to secretly sell shares through his network, with those fees ranging from 3 per cent to 6 per cent of the share sales. He told the brokers handling the sales that the stock did not come from insiders, which was entirely false.

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