An Alberta man has been convicted of 20 counts of breaching Alberta securities laws, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) announced on Wednesday.
Provincial Court Judge Fraser found Donald Nason guilty of engaging in illegal distributions, multiple breaches of an ASC cease-trade order, an unfair trade practice and numerous misleading or untrue statements to investors.
The charges stem from the illegal sale of Locate Technologies Inc. securities to investors in the Edmonton area. In April 2008, the ASC had prohibited all trading in Locate Technologies securities and prohibited Locate Technologies from using any exemptions under Alberta securities laws.
In making his decision, Judge Fraser found Nason’s credibility suffered as his version of the transactions in question was “beyond belief.”
Judge Fraser stated, “[Nason] would have this court believe he made no attempt to promote the company and he was pursued by both investors anxious to give him large amounts of their cash to invest in a company they knew very little about without any incentives to do so.”
Sentencing will occur at a later date.