Man convicted in illegal trading scheme, again

Two men have been convicted on quasi-criminal charges in connection with an apparent investment fraud, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) said Tuesday.

The regulator said that Sei-Jin Ki and Carlos DaSilva were convicted of fraud, trading without registration and trading without a prospectus after they sold more than $130,000 of securities in a company known as Toronto Scientific Medtech Inc. (TSM).

“The court found that Mr. Ki and Mr. DaSilva sold fraudulent shares in TSM, made material misrepresentation regarding investments in TSM and that a significant percentage of the money raised was used for the personal benefit of Mr. Ki and Mr. DaSilva,” the OSC said in a release.

Back in March, another man involved in selling TSM shares, Kamal Singh (Bobby) Athwal, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing securities without a prospectus, the OSC noted.

Ki and DaSilva are scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto on Feb. 22 for submissions on sentencing to be heard.

The OSC permanently banned DaSilva back in 2008 and ordered monetary sanctions against him (including a $200,000 fine and $2.7 million in disgorgement) after finding that he illegally sold securities in Limelight Entertainment Inc.

He was also sentenced to three months in jail, 18 months of probation, and 125 hours of community service in 2016 after being convicted of unregistered trading and breaching a cease-trade order.

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.