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by Mike Caswell

Vancouver's Harmel Singh Rayat has accepted a permanent ban and has agreed to pay $2.7-million to settle charges he faces from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a 2018 scheme on the OTC Markets. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC said that Mr. Rayat boosted a company called Renovacare Inc., which claimed to have a device called the "SkinGun" that could heal burns. People associated with him sold millions of shares amidst a $50,000-per-month paid touting campaign, according to the SEC.

The sanctions for Mr. Rayat are contained in a judgment handed down on Tuesday, Feb. 27, in federal court in New York. The judge has permanently barred Mr. Rayat from penny stocks and from serving as an officer or director. The $2.7-million he must pay includes disgorgement of $1.2-million in gains, plus interest, and a $1.2-million fine. The penalties represent a negotiated settlement, in which Mr. Rayat has not admitted any wrongdoing.

The judge also entered an order on Tuesday against another Vancouverite in the scheme, Jatinder Bhogal. The SEC said that Mr. Bhogal helped prepare promotional materials used in the scheme and was a heavy seller, unloading over 50,000 shares per day at one point. In a separate judgment handed down on Tuesday, the judge ordered Mr. Bhogal to pay $2-million, including disgorgement of $1.1-million in gains. The judge also banned him from penny stocks and from serving as an officer or director. As with Mr. Rayat, the sanctions represent a negotiated settlement, in which Mr. Bhogal did not admit any wrongdoing.

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