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by Mike Caswell

Chip Rice, a Minnesota man seeking compensation after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursued and then dropped charges against him, has taken his case to the United States Court of Appeals. Mr. Rice complained that the SEC pursued him in a "protracted and arguably vindictive" manner before asking that the judge dismiss the case. He said that he lost his income and suffered public ridicule as a result of the charges.

The appeal from Mr. Rice, set out in a brief notice dated May 8, 2026, comes as part of a case in which the SEC claimed that Mr. Rice improperly sold hundreds of millions of shares in listings that included Grow Solutions Holdings Inc. of Saskatchewan. The SEC said that Mr. Rice obtained the stock through convertible notes and then illegally sold it on the markets through unregistered offerings. The scheme generated gains that the SEC calculated to be $13.9-million. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

The matter endured considerable litigation. After two years of legal back-and-forth, the SEC won an $11-million judgment against Mr. Rice on Sept. 23, 2024, but he appealed that decision almost immediately. He had previously complained that there was no basis for the charges, as there was nothing illegal about his share sales. He said that his business amounted to buying convertible notes and selling the stock on the market, a practice that was entirely legitimate. Before the matter could proceed any further, the SEC dropped the case.

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