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by Mike Caswell

Andrew Coldicutt, a former Vancouverite working as a securities lawyer in San Diego, has asked a U.S. federal judge to spare him jail for his part in a 2017 pump-and-dump scheme. The government claimed that Mr. Coldicutt helped set up a sham company with a puppet officer as part of a planned $5-million fraud. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Unfortunately for Mr. Coldicutt, the scheme turned out to be an undercover operation run by the FBI.

The request from Mr. Coldicutt, 45, comes about 3-1/2 months after a jury in California convicted him on charges that included securities fraud and wire fraud. The jury reached the verdict after a five-day trial and one day of deliberation. Prosecutors have not yet set out their position on an appropriate sentence.

Mr. Coldicutt's sentencing request is set out in a memorandum that his lawyer filed on Thursday, July 3. The memorandum explains that Mr. Coldicutt is not a danger to society and has already suffered considerably from his conviction. He has lost his career and law licence, with the investigations and lawsuits arising from the scheme having "taken their toll in every manner possible." On top of that, he has a wife and children who rely on him for cooking, cleaning, maintaining the house and transportation.

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