Michael Mitton Charged Quasi-Criminally with Unregistered Trading and Breaching an OSC Cease Trade Order

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced today that Michael Mitton of Montreal, Quebec has been charged with alleged breaches of the Securities Act (Ontario) following an investigation by the OSC’s Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT).

Mitton was charged with one count of trading without registration, contrary to section 25(1) of the Securities Act. Mitton was further charged with one count of trading in securities while prohibited from doing so by order of the Commission dated December 9, 2011, contrary to section 122(1)(c) of the Securities Act.

Mitton is banned for life from trading securities in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Mitton’s behaviour is notorious, having received approximately 100 criminal convictions since 1977 for fraud, forgery, false pretences, money laundering and related conspiracies.

In 2007, Mitton pled guilty in Ontario to criminal charges of market manipulation and money laundering. He was sentenced to seven years’ incarceration and ordered to pay restitution of USD $2,600,000.

Mitton’s permanent cease trade order in Ontario has been in place since December 2011. This ban flows from the same misconduct as Mitton’s 2007 criminal conviction. The 2011 CTO prohibits Mitton from trading or acquiring securities and bans him from relying on any exemption in Ontario securities law.

Mitton is scheduled to appear in court in this matter on March 13, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom # 111 at the Old City Hall - Ontario Court of Justice, 60 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario.

JSOT was established by the OSC as an enforcement partnership between the OSC, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Financial Crime program and the Ontario Provincial Police Anti-Rackets Branch.  The primary objective of JSOT is to protect investors and further enhance confidence in the Canadian capital markets through effective enforcement.  This is accomplished through collaborative investigations of serious violations of the law using the provisions of the Securities Act or the Criminal Code of Canada.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets.  Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at www.osc.ca

 

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