Global Petroleum Strategies, LLC has been permanently banned from the Alberta capital market and ordered to pay a penalty of $300,000 for engaging in illegal distributions of securities to investors, the Alberta Securities Commission said on Monday.

An ASC panel found that Florida-based Global Petroleum ran a boiler room operation, through which salespeople enticed prospective investors into buying oil and gas securities. In particular, the company illegally traded and distributed securities of Petroleum Unlimited, LLC to investors in several Canadian provinces, including Alberta.

Through telephone, electronic and written solicitations, Global Petroleum Strategies attracted investors by suggesting that they could participate in returns up to 700%. There was evidence of sales totalling more than $650,000, including about $325,000 to Alberta buyers, to 27 investors or groups of investors, of which 14 resided in Alberta.

“[Global Petroleum Strategies] operated a scheme to extract money from Alberta investors in blatant disregard of Alberta securities laws,” the ASC panel said in its decision.

The panel noted that the activity, including sales scripts, could “serve as an instruction manual for participants in a classic boiler room securities-selling operation.”

The investors who testified had not received any of the promised returns, and the panel said the investors may not recover any of their investments. While it is unclear where the investors’ money went, the ASC panel said at least some of the proceeds went to Global for its own enrichment and that of its principals.

“We conclude that Global benefited, significantly, from its misconduct,” the panel said.

It adds that there is no evidence that Global has recognized its wrongdoing.

“The harm done is real,” the panel concluded. “It affects identifiable investors. It also constitutes an assault on the integrity of the Alberta capital market, jeopardizing the confidence of market participants beyond those directly affected.”