William Wallace and Robert Heward Sentenced to Four Years Imprisonment Each for Fraud, Illegal Distribution and Unregistered Trading

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced today that William Wallace and Robert Heward were each sentenced to four years in jail, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $6,672,955.48 by Justice McLeod at the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, Ontario, following convictions under the Securities Act (Ontario).

Following an investigation by the OSC’s Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT), Mr. Wallace and Mr. Heward were convicted of fraud under the Securities Act for which they were sentenced to four years in jail. They were also convicted for illegal distribution and unregistered trading contrary to the Securities Act for which they both received a sentence of 18 months in jail, concurrent to the four year sentence.

Mr. Wallace and Mr. Heward were the principals in a scheme to distribute shares of Londoni Gold Corp., which they promoted as a gold mine in Tanzania. Investors were subject to misrepresentations by Mr. Wallace and Mr. Heward with respect to the operations, management team, viability and production potential of the mine. Mr. Wallace and Mr. Heward raised funds from approximately 105 investors. A significant portion of the funds provided by investors to purchase shares in Londoni Gold Corp. were used to support Mr. Wallace and Mr. Heward’s own personal lifestyles.  Mr. Wallace and Mr. Heward were not registered to trade securities in Ontario. Londoni securities were not qualified by a prospectus, and Londoni never made any regulatory filings.

Wallace and Heward’s scheme raised at least $6,672,955.48.  This amount was subject to restitution ordered by the court requiring that the funds be returned to investors.

“This case sends a strong message to individuals engaged in securities fraud and illegal distributions that they will be held accountable for their misconduct,” said Jeff Kehoe, Director of Enforcement at the OSC. “We will continue to seek prison sentences for individuals who commit crimes like these, which have a devastating impact on the lives of people and their families.”

For a copy of the sentencing decision for this matter, contact Ontario Court of Justice – Old City Hall, Toronto, Ontario referencing the Court file number 4811-999-14-12000704-01 for William Wallace and 4811-999-14-12000704-02 for Robert Heward.

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. 

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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