The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has handed down discipline against two men, reciprocating an order against them by the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC).

The OSC announced that it has ordered sanctions against Victor DeLaet and Stanley Gitzel, who were disciplined by the ASC last year after it found that they made misleading statements to investors, and that DeLaet perpetrated a fraud. (See Investment Executive, Alberta man faces $1.5 million penalty in alleged fraud, May 28, 2013.)

The allegations against them were made in connection with their roles in a collection of now-bankrupt companies and limited partnerships that were purportedly established to participate in the U.S. life settlement industry.

As a result, the ASC permanently banned DeLaet, ordered an administrative penalty of $1.5 million and $40,000 in costs. It also cease traded Gitzel for five years, banned him from serving as a director or relying on an exemption for 10 years, along with a $75,000 penalty, and $5,000 in costs.

OSC staff sought similar bans against them, but not its own monetary penalties. According to the decision, DeLaet didn’t appear at the hearing but argued in an email that the OSC has no reason to impose sanctions on him, that the proposed ban would harm his ability to invest for retirement, that it is too punitive, and would violate his Charter rights and the Canadian Human Rights Act. Gitzel did not contest the proposed sanctions against him.

The commission dismissed the argument that DeLaet’s Charter rights would be violated by imposing sanctions, noting that previous decisions have held that “the ability to trade in securities is not a liberty protected by the Charter.” It also dismissed his submissions concerning the Human Rights Act, noting that it doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear issues under that act.

Ultimately, it concluded that sanctions against them are warranted, and granted the penalties sought by OSC staff.