The Alberta Securities Commission has censured the CEO of a gold exploration company for misleading investors about drilling results at a U.S. gold mine.
Regulators say Matthew Russell of Azteca Gold Corp. (TSXV:AZG) issued misleading statements about the company’s Two Mile project in Idaho.
The commission also says Russell’s conduct hurt the ability of investors to make properly informed investment decisions.
It ruled that investors who bought the stock in the first half of 2009 appear to have been directly and quantifiably harmed.
Azteca was registered as an Alberta corporation in 2009 but is now headquartered in Spokane, Wash.
The commission is now deciding what sanctions to impose on Russell.
Company officials were not immediately available for comment.