Poseidon Concepts execs agree to pay $375,000 in fines, accept market bans

CALGARY – Three former senior executives at failed Calgary oilfield company Poseidon Concepts have agreed to pay a total of $375,000 and admit to overstating revenue in reports to investors to settle charges filed by the Alberta Securities Commission.

Poseidon was created by Calgary junior producer Open Range Energy in November 2011 to develop and market its oilfield liquid storage systems that resembled gigantic above-ground swimming pools.

The value of the new company’s shares soared to $1.3 billion but fell quickly after February 2013 when it announced that it had incorrectly recorded about $100 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2012. Its assets were subsequently sold off by a court-appointed monitor for less than its secured debt, leaving nothing for shareholders.

The securities commission charged Poseidon’s executives with failing to file financial statements in accordance with proper accounting principles.

It said Thursday that CEO Lyle Michaluk and chief financial officer Matthew MacKenzie have agreed to pay $150,000 each and accept a seven-year ban on acting as a director or officer of a reporting company in Alberta. Chief operating officer Clifford Wiebe has agreed to pay $75,000 and accept a five-year ban.

Joseph Kostelecky, Poseidon’s former senior sales executive in the United States, paid $75,000 US last year to settle fraud charges levied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.