The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) issued a notice August 1 that an Abbotsford-based tout sheet promoter joined forces with a manager of a Swiss company to facilitate the secret promotion of a company traded on the loosely regulated Over The Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) exchange in the U.S.
The notice alleges that between October 2009 and July 2010, Colin Robert McCabe featured several OTCBB-listed companies in tout sheets published and distributed by companies that he controlled.
McCabe allegedly recommended stocks under his own name in a tout sheet he published, called the Elite Stock Report, as well as under the pseudonyms Roger Gaines and Joe Marino.
McCabe was asked to feature the OTCBB-listed companies in his tout sheets by Erwin Thomas Speckert, the managing director of a Swiss company called Everest Asset Management, the BCSC alleges.
In its notice, the BCSC alleges that Speckert acts as an intermediary for undisclosed persons who secretly promote securities in or through B.C. He is a resident of Minden, Ontario, and Zurich, Switzerland.
During the period in question, McCabe’s companies collectively invoiced Emma Marketing Services Inc. – a British Virgin Islands company controlled by Speckert – a total of US$8.2 million for touting companies quoted on the OTCBB.
Each time, Speckert caused Emma Marketing to bill other companies located outside of Canada for investor relations services.
The notice alleges that on three separate occasions McCabe made false and misleading statements in his tout sheets about Guinness Exploration Inc, a thinly traded OTCBB-listed company.
The notice also alleges that McCabe made false or misleading statements during a compelled interview with BCSC staff.
These allegations have not been proven in court. A hearing has been set for September 4.
