This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Mike Caswell

A federal judge in Boston has sentenced Vancouver's Avtar Dhillon to four months in prison for a scheme on the OTC Markets. Prosecutors claimed that Mr. Dhillon, 63, actively ignored and circumvented securities laws while secretly pocketing $1.49-million. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) He then lied under oath twice when investigators with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked about the sales.

Mr. Dhillon received the sentence in an appearance on Wednesday, Dec. 4, before Judge Allison Burroughs. In addition to four months in prison, the judge ordered Mr. Dhillon to serve six months of house arrest. He must report to prison by April 8, 2025.

The term is a setback of sorts for prosecutors, who had asked the judge to send Mr. Dhillon to prison for 18 months. They said that his crime involved willfully ignoring securities laws and using his "medical background and business acumen" to illegally sell shares on the U.S. markets. Mr. Dhillon received restricted shares in companies for which he served as an insider. As an insider, he was limited in how much stock he could sell and would have been required to disclose his sales, but "Dhillon cared little about fidelity to these restrictions and requirements," the government contended.

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS