Regulators in British Columbia are accusing a man who blogged and tweeted about investing with perpetrating a fraud when he took $15,000 from one of his readers and lost it trading penny stocks.
The B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) alleges that Noshad Dowlati, who operated a blog and a Twitter account that gave general investment advice and recommended specific stocks, breached securities laws and defrauded an investor. The allegations against him have not been proven.
According to the BCSC’s notice of hearing, in November 2011, a follower of Dowlati’s investment blog gave him $10,000 to trade, with the understanding that he would receive 7% of any trading profits; and, that he would not continue trading if the value of the stake fell below $8,000. Instead, BCSC staff allege that he spent $1,000 of the investor’s money for personal expenses, and used the remaining $9,000 to trade penny stocks, eventually losing all of the investor’s money.
The commission says that the investor gave him another $5,000 in January 2012, with the expectation that $15,000 would ultimately be returned in five months. However, it says that all of the additional money was lost trading penny stocks too.
In doing so, the BCSC alleges that Dowlati perpetrated a fraud on the investor; and, it says that he breached securities laws, as he was not registered to trade or provide investment advice. The first appearance in the case is set for August 19.