A convicted fraudster has been permanently banned from the markets, unless she makes full restitution of almost $500,000 that was taken in from investors.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) entered a settlement agreement with Beryl Henderson Monday that sees her banned from trading, registration, and serving as a director or officer of a public company unless she fully repays the $474,000 received from investors in a fraud scheme.
According to the agreement, between September 21, 2004 and October 31, 2006, Henderson, and her agent, sold at least $474,000 in trust agreements to at least six investors in Ontario. In doing so, it says she “engaged in fraudulent conduct by misleading the investors about the nature of their investment, her investment expertise and background, the expected returns on the investment and the risk level associated with the investment.”
The settlement says that investors were told that their investments would be used to build hospitals in Dubai or elsewhere, or to fund a goldmine in Dubai; and that they were promised double or triple returns on their investments in several months. Yet, investors ultimately lost all of the funds they invested.
In April 2012, she pled guilty to two counts of fraud over $5,000; and, in November 2012, she pled guilty to two additional counts. On May 30, 2013, she was sentenced to 12 months house arrest, three years probation, and ordered to make restitution of $474,000.
The agreement notes that OSC staff are content to settle without an administrative penalty in this case, given the fact that she already faces criminal penalties, including a full restitution order, and that any monetary penalty may affect her ability to make restitution.
It also says that Henderson says that she has provided partial restitution to each investor, totalling $205,751.