An investigation has resulted in a New Brunswick Securities Commission (NBSC) hearing panel ordering that Strategic Energy Partners and Jim Palmer be banned from trading securities in New Brunswick, the regulator announced Wednesday.

A New Brunswick resident had been solicited by telephone to invest in securities of Clean Coal Technologies Inc. (CCTI). The salespeople said that they were employees or agents of Strategic Energy Partners, a company operating out of Geneva, Switzerland. The company appears to be in the business of reselling securities of other companies. CCTI, a company operating in Florida, states that it has no affiliation with Strategic Energy Partners, and has issued a warning about SEP on its Web site.

The complaints alleged that sales representatives for Strategic Energy Partners were aggressive and used profane language. On one occasion, the representative hung up on the potential investor. On another occasion, Palmer, a Strategic Energy Partners salesperson who made cold calls to a New Brunswick resident, refused to provide written information about the security being offered, and instead referred the New Brunswick resident to the Strategic Energy Partners Web site. The investigation revealed that this Web site provides little information, and appeared to a large extent to be copied from the website of another company.

“Investors must be extremely cautious of investment opportunities solicited by phone,” said Rick Hancox, executive director of the NBSC, in a news release. “In this case, the investor was skeptical and did the right thing by calling us to report suspicions.”

Neither Strategic Energy Partners nor Palmer is registered to trade in securities in New Brunswick. Strategic Energy Partners and Palmer were both provided notice of the hearing held Wednesday, but neither appeared before the NBSC panel, the regulator said.

IE