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by Mike Caswell

Nearly one year into its case against Vancouver's Benjamin Kirk, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to track down Mr. Kirk or one of his co-accused, Jay Lee. The SEC claims that the men participated in pump-and-dumps that generated as much as $77.3-million in gains. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) They and others sold millions of shares in nine companies in the midst of paid promotions, according to the SEC.

The SEC has been pursuing the men since Dec. 9, 2021, but says that it has yet to serve its complaint on Mr. Kirk or Mr. Lee, despite going to some effort. The SEC tracked Mr. Kirk to four addresses in B.C., along with an address in Alberta. It found him at none of those places.

The SEC's attempts at service come as part of a case in which the regulator cited the men and others for a scheme they ran from 2013 to 2016. According to the SEC, the men used an offshore trading platform run by West Vancouver's Frederick Sharp. The men were among Mr. Sharp's many clients, using his platform to secretly hold and sell shares in public companies, the SEC claims.

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