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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is planning a trip to Canada as part of its case against Toronto's Andy DeFrancesco, who it accuses of running an $8-million pump-and-dump on the U.S. markets. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC is looking to speak with Mr. DeFrancesco's mother and sister. It claims that they were the nominal owners of companies that Mr. DeFrancesco secretly controlled.

The trip is part of a case in which the SEC says that Mr. DeFrancesco misled investors in a company that supposedly sold Apple products through a chain of retail stores. According to the SEC, Mr. DeFrancesco boosted the company with paid tout sheets, including one that touted the company as having a "$900 Million Opportunity From Apple." As those claims went out, Mr. DeFrancesco unloaded 1.6 million shares, the SEC contends.

The proposed trip to Canada is set out in a motion that the SEC filed on Thursday, March 16, in federal court in New York. The SEC is seeking what is known as a letter rogatory, or a request to a foreign court. The reason for the request is that the SEC is seeking to interview Mr. DeFrancesco's relatives in Canada, but it has no authority to compel them to attend such an interview. Assuming the judge approves the SEC's request, the court in New York will send a letter to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, which could then compel the relatives to answer the SEC's questions.

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