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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's case against Vancouver-area resident Benjamin Kirk for the pump-and-dump of Nutranomics Inc. and other stocks can proceed, a U.S. federal judge has determined. Mr. Kirk had sought to have the charges dropped, saying that the SEC had fallen short of the legal bar necessary to accuse him of participating in the scheme, but the judge has ruled otherwise. Among other things, she has found it to be plausible that Mr. Kirk sold shares as a "substantial participant" in the pump-and-dump.

The ruling, handed down on Aug. 10, 2026, comes as part of a case in which the SEC claims that Mr. Kirk and others unloaded millions of shares during paid promotions. The selling came amidst paid tout sheets, including one advising that a stock was "ready go to up ... the timing is perfect." While Mr. Kirk is only accused of receiving $4.2-million, the SEC says that the overall scheme produced $77.3-million in gains. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

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