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by Mike Caswell

Doug Roe, the Vancouver man facing $600,000 in fines plus related disgorgement orders from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a face mask promotion on the OTC Markets, has protested the proposed fines as excessive. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) He says that his part in the scheme was minimal, amounting to receiving and transferring some shares. Others ran the scheme and realized millions of dollars in gains, he contends.

The SEC is seeking the fines as part of a case in which it accused Mr. Roe of participating in the 2020 promotion of Sandy Steele Unlimited Inc., a company that supposedly sold face masks. According to the SEC, Mr. Roe participated in the issuance of millions of tradable shares in Sandy Steele based on a fake cheque. He and others then unloaded $1.8-million worth of stock, the SEC said.

There was no trial for Mr. Roe, as he settled the case out of court. As part of that settlement he agreed to disgorge his gains of $548,435, plus interest. The settlement did not specify an amount for his fine, leaving that to the judge to determine. The SEC is seeking $600,000, with the amount split evenly between Mr. Roe personally and a private entity that he controls.

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