The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has ordered $240,000 in administrative penalties and costs as well as market bans against 526053 B.C. Ltd., James Nelson McCarney, Brent Gordon Edgson, William Douglas Henderson and Terry Leong.

The ASC found that the respondents had engaged in an illegal distribution of securities and that the company President had made misrepresentations to investors.

The ASC concluded in its decision that, “The contraventions of the Respondents were serious… In short, investors were enticed into handing over money — sometimes rather large sums — without benefit of the fundamental protections mandated by Alberta securities laws.”

The sanctions imposed include: orders to cease trading for up to 20 years; denial of all Alberta securities law exemptions for up to 20 years; and orders to pay $240,000 in penalties and costs.

“The ASC is satisfied that these sanctions remove the threat this company and these individuals posed to the Alberta’s financial market and investors,” said ASC’s director of enforcement John Petch, in a news release.