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by Mike Caswell

A U.S. federal judge in California has imposed a seven-year jail term on Andrew Coldicutt, a Vancouverite-turned-U.S.-securities-lawyer who was convicted of securities fraud after an undercover FBI operation. The FBI had Mr. Coldicutt create a company for use in a $5.95-million pump-and-dump scheme. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) Mr. Coldicutt prepared the company knowing that it would have a figurehead officer and backers who wanted to remain concealed, prosecutors said.

Mr. Coldicutt, 44, received his sentence in an appearance on Friday, July 11, before Judge Jinsook Ohta. In addition to the seven-year jail term, Mr. Coldicutt must serve three years of supervised release and pay a $100,000 fine. The judge ordered him to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Aug. 25, 2025.

The jail term is a loss for Mr. Coldicutt, who had asked that the judge spare him prison. Ahead of sentencing, he said that he was not a danger to society and had already suffered considerably from his conviction. He had lost his career and law licence, with the investigations and lawsuits arising from the scheme having "taken their toll in every manner possible." He also said that he had a wife and children who relied on him for cooking, cleaning, maintaining the house and transportation.

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