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by Mike Caswell

Andrew Hackett, the Toronto man jailed and since released on probation in the United States for a scheme to boost a supposed social media listing through phone rooms and manipulative trades, has lost a request to come home for Christmas. A federal judge in San Diego has rejected a travel request, finding that Mr. Hackett has not fulfilled the terms of his probation. In particular, he has failed to make restitution payments as required.

The rejection is a footnote to a case in which U.S. federal prosecutors cited Mr. Hackett and others for a scheme to boost an OTC Markets company called Arias Intel Corp. in 2017. He was part of a group (that included many Canadians) charged for pump-and-dumps run through a touting website called TheMoneyStreet. A jury convicted Mr. Hackett after a trial in 2021, with the evidence including testimony of a boiler room operator.

Mr. Hackett has since completed the jail term he received after his trial and is now serving three years of probation. Unlike most Canadians, Mr. Hackett was not immediately expelled from the country upon his release from jail as he had obtained U.S. citizenship at some point prior to his conviction. This means that he is effectively trapped in the U.S. -- he requires permission to leave the country while he is on probation.

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