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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission says it has been unable to track down Benjamin Kirk and Jay Lee, two Canadians accused of participating in pump-and-dumps that generated as much as $77.3-million in gains. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC is pursuing the men for a scheme in which they and others sold millions of shares in nine companies in the midst of paid promotions. The men were among many associated with West Vancouver's Frederick Sharp, who ran an offshore platform that helped with multiple pump-and-dumps, the SEC claims.

Mr. Kirk is of particular interest to the SEC, as the charges represent the second time the regulator has pursued him for stock market schemes. The SEC previously charged him for a boiler room run from Surrey and Calgary, saying that he and others promoted two pink sheets companies with spam and misleading news releases. Both stocks went to over $1 before falling under a penny. In that case, the SEC was able to find Mr. Kirk, and in 2016 he agreed to pay $6.23-million to settle the charges, without admitting any wrongdoing.

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