Venard “Lenny” Gaudet charged Quasi-Criminally with Unregistered Trading and Illegal Distribution
For Immediate Release OSC Enforcement Before the Court
TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced today that Venard “Lenny” Gaudet of Toronto, Ontario has been charged with alleged breaches of the Securities Act (Ontario) following an investigation by the OSC’s Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT).
Gaudet has been charged with unregistered trading, contrary to s. 25(1) of the Securities Act and distributing securities without having filed a prospectus, contrary to s. 53(1) of the Act. It is alleged that Gaudet sold common shares of Ontario Corporation Intrinsic Minerals Ltd. to four Ontario investors in July 2012.
Gaudet was previously sanctioned by the OSC in 1991 for his leading role in a $12 million fraud on Toronto brokerage Osler Inc., of which he was the Chief Financial Officer. Gaudet traded in spite of an Order issued in the Osler Inc. matter, which permanently revoked his registration and banned him from relying on trading exemptions. In issuing the Order against Osler, the Commission wrote that Gaudet's conduct was so reprehensible that he “should never again be allowed to participate in the capital markets of this province.”
The first court appearance for Gaudet in this matter is scheduled to take place December 12, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. in Courtroom # 111 at the Old City Hall – Ontario Court of Justice, 60 Queen Street West, 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 (Ontario) 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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