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by Mike Caswell

Phillip Offill, a disbarred lawyer Texas lawyer charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a scheme to steal and sell shares of an OTC Markets listing, denies that he did anything wrong. He claims that the case is about "venal, petty vindictiveness" and other ulterior motives. He says that others, facing legal troubles of their own, are using him to conceal their own scheme.

The statements by Mr. Offill, a past violator with Canadian connections, come in response to charges that the SEC brought against him for the sale of $1.3-million worth of shares in a purported Arizona mining company. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC claimed that Mr. Offill obtained the stock with forged signatures. The scheme began shortly after Mr. Offill left prison for his part in a prior pump-and-dump scheme run by two Ontario men.

Mr. Offill's denials are contained an answer that he filed on April 12, 2022, in federal court in Texas. While the SEC claims that he was the perpetrator of the scheme, he portrays himself as the victim of circumstances. He says that his troubles go back to 2016, when he was released from prison. Upon his release, he contacted a former associate named John Bauska. He says that Mr. Bauska sought assistance identifying a shell to hold some mining claims that he had in Arizona. The company would have the backing of investors in Canada and the U.S.

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