Convicted fraudster Michael Mitton is at again, regulators in Quebec are warning.
Investors should “exercise caution in light of recent solicitations in the Montreal area by Michael Mitton, who has repeatedly been sanctioned for making illegal distributions,” the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) warned on Tuesday.
Mitton is currently soliciting investments under the name Mike Cypress, as a consultant for the firms Cytron Capital Group and Petrichor Energy, the AMF reports.
Mitton, who has used other aliases, including Mike Matt, is not registered with the AMF, the regulator stresses, and is not entitled to solicit investments in Quebec.
The AMF is now pursuing a reciprocal order against Mitton to apply the lifetime bans against him that have already been issued by regulators in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, too. The Bureau de décision et de révision is scheduled to hear the AMF’s application on Aug. 25.
Earlier this year, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) charged Mitton with one count of trading without registration and one count of trading in securities while prohibited under the OSC’s ban against him that was issued in 2011. Those allegations have not been proven, but Mitton has already racked up approximately 100 criminal convictions since 1977 for offences such as fraud, forgery, false pretences, money laundering and related conspiracies, the OSC noted.
Investors that have been approached by Mitton, or have been targeted by investment scams should contact the regulator, the AMF says.