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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has won penalties totalling $5.86-million against a group of Vancouverites charged for multiple pump-and-dumps on the U.S. markets. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC said that the group was part of the operation run by West Vancouver's Frederick Sharp, in which Mr. Sharp helped hidden insiders unload millions of shares. The scheme generated at least $1-billion in gains, the SEC said.

The penalties are contained in proposed judgments that the SEC filed on Friday, May 10, in federal court in Boston. Those fined include Mike Veldhuis, Paul Sexton and Jackson Friesen, three men who were clients of Mr. Sharp's service. They each must pay $1.56-million. Also fined were Courtney Kelln and Yvonne Gasarch, who were employed by Mr. Sharp. The fine for Ms. Kelln is $904,078 and that of Ms. Gasarch is $296,651. All five defendants are permanently banned from penny stocks as well.

The SEC said that Mr. Veldhuis, Mr. Sexton and Mr. Friesen were part of a group that participated in three pump-and-dumps, including a $45.6-million scheme with Avtar Dhillon's Stevia First Corp. from 2012 to 2018. The SEC claimed that the men unloaded millions of shares through Mr. Sharp's service amidst promotional e-mails that told investors to "Get in now; this is huge" and "Buy STVF right now!"

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