It’s a penny-ante example of alleged fraud directed at investors, but the ploy is one even sophisticated clients may fall prey to
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced today that Sydney Klein of Vaughan, Ont., and Charles Joseph Makuto of Pefferlaw, Ont., have each been charged with one count of fraud under $5000, contrary to Section 380 (1)(b) of the Criminal Code.
The Joint Serious Offences Taskforce investigation began in April 2015 looking into the alleged fraud which saw the duo use dormant shareholder lists to convince unsuspecting individuals that their worthless penny stocks carried some tangible value.
That kind of ploy is something even savvy investors might fall prey to given the anecdotal history of investors having struck it rich with old securities many had forgotten they'd even had.
Operating a telemarketing operation, the duo allegedly used Dorchester International Group Inc. in Markham, Ont., as a front for selling worthless research reports based on the penny stocks listed on the dormant shareholder lists.
Klein and Makuto are scheduled to appear in court on this matter on December 17, 2015, at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom #205 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, Ont.
JSOT was established by the OSC as an enforcement partnership between the OSC, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Financial Crime program and the Ontario Provincial Police Anti-Rackets Branch. The latest charges are another indication of the partnership’s success since being established in June 2013.
The Joint Serious Offences Taskforce investigation began in April 2015 looking into the alleged fraud which saw the duo use dormant shareholder lists to convince unsuspecting individuals that their worthless penny stocks carried some tangible value.
That kind of ploy is something even savvy investors might fall prey to given the anecdotal history of investors having struck it rich with old securities many had forgotten they'd even had.
Operating a telemarketing operation, the duo allegedly used Dorchester International Group Inc. in Markham, Ont., as a front for selling worthless research reports based on the penny stocks listed on the dormant shareholder lists.
Klein and Makuto are scheduled to appear in court on this matter on December 17, 2015, at 10:30 a.m. in Courtroom #205 at the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, Ont.
JSOT was established by the OSC as an enforcement partnership between the OSC, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Financial Crime program and the Ontario Provincial Police Anti-Rackets Branch. The latest charges are another indication of the partnership’s success since being established in June 2013.
