Court in B.C. orders extradition of alleged fraudster

A British Columbia court has granted the extradition of an accused penny stock fraudster to face charges in the U.S.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has ruled that Colin Jeffrey Heatherington is to be returned to the U.S. to face allegations that he participated in a market manipulation scheme involving 11 U.S. penny stocks while he was a stock trader at Absolute Capital Management Holdings Ltd.

The allegations have not been proven.

According to the decision, Heatherington denies the accusation that he manipulated the market, and he opposed extradition, arguing that U.S. authorities “cast too wide a net of generalized allegations in an effort to ensnare him.”

The court said Heatherington argued that “he played only a minor role as a stock trader in a complex scheme directed by others.”

However, the court found that there was enough evidence to “reasonably support inferences” that he was a knowing participant in the scheme.

“A properly instructed jury could reasonably find that these behaviours by Mr. Heatherington constituted the tradecraft of a fraudster knowingly involved…in stock market manipulation,” the decision read.

As a result, the court ruled that the Attorney General of Canada met the test required to approve an extradition request on behalf of the U.S.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.