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by Mike Caswell

A judge in the Supreme Court of British Columbia has ordered Connecticut resident Nicholas Vita to pay a $7.4-million (U.S.) debt to Canaccord Genuity Corp. arising from a margin account that went into default. Mr. Vita unsuccessfully argued that the loan was invalid because it violated U.S. securities laws. He pointed out that U.S. securities laws prohibit foreign broker-dealers from granting credit to U.S. citizens.

The loss for Mr. Vita is contained in a decision handed down on Friday, Feb. 13. A judge has ordered Mr. Vita to repay the $7.4-million (U.S.), plus interest and legal fees. The findings were handed down summarily, or without a full trial.

The case arises from money that Mr. Vita borrowed while he was the chief executive officer of Columbia Care Inc., a cannabis listing that went public through Canaccord in April, 2019. In helping obtain a listing for Columbia Care, Canaccord established a business relationship with Mr. Vita. In 2019, Mr. Vita discussed using his shares of Columbia Care as collateral for a margin account with the firm.

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