A British Columbia Securities Commission panel has found that two B.C. residents and two companies broke securities laws when they raised money from Canadian and U.S. investors.
The panel found that Daniel Scammell, Casper de Beer (aka Casha de Beer), Verified Transactions Corp.(VTC) and VerifySmart Corp. (formerly known as Verified Capital Corp.) traded in securities without being registered in B.C., and distributed those securities without filing a prospectus.
From September 2006 to December 2008, Scammell and VTC raised $641,309 from 49 investors in B.C., Alberta and Washington State. The panel found that these securities were distributed illegally, as the exemptions from B.C. securities laws relied upon by Scammell and VTC did not apply to any of the distributions. Additionally, neither Scammell nor VTC were registered to trade securities, and VTC has never filed a prospectus in B.C.
From November 2008 to March 2009, de Beer and VerifySmart distributed shares in that company to 50 investors in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, raising a total of $575,000. The panel also found these securities to have been distributed illegally, as the exemptions from B.C. securities laws relied upon by de Beer and VerifySmart did not apply to any of the distributions. Additionally, neither de Beer nor VerifySmart were registered to trade securities, and VerifySmart has never filed a prospectus in B.C.
The panel directed the parties to make submissions on sanctions according to the schedule set out in the findings.