U.S. securities commission wins $4.5 M enforcement order in B.C. Supreme Court

VANCOUVER – A B.C. Supreme Court judge has issued an enforcement order against two British Columbia men who owe US$4.5 million to the American securities commission.

A New York court ruled in 2011 that William Peever and Phillip Curtis were liable to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which successfully argued they were part of a stock manipulation scam.

After the ruling, the securities commission sought an enforcement order in the B.C. court.

But lawyers for Peever and Curtis argued the U.S. judgment was obtained by fraud, and they questioned whether the funds would be distributed to the victims or kept by the government.

Justice Peter Rogers says the fraud allegation was unsupported by any documentation and the defendants did not show the securities commission was more likely than not to keep the funds.

Rogers says the parties can now apply to the court for directions about interest and currency conversion.