The number of Canadians facing jail time for breaching securities laws increased in 2010, according to a Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) report released yesterday.
The report notes that securities regulators can address cases through an administrative tribunal or a provincial court. In 2010, across Canada, 64 securities cases were court proceedings, an 83% increase from 2009. Canadian courts ordered jail time for 15 individuals.
The total number of cases concluded also jumped to 174 from 141 the year prior. The bulk of the offences were in the illegal distribution category, where concluded cases jumped to 115 in 2010 from 68 the year previous.
“Illegal distribution cases can involve Ponzi schemes, affinity fraud and boiler room operations that employ both traditional and online methods of communication to entice potential investors,” CSA chairman and Alberta Securities Commission CEO and chairman Bill Rice said in a press release. “CSA members continue to adapt to new technologies and changing market realities and use all available enforcement methods to address this misconduct while at the same time educating investors on how to identify and avoid these fraudulent investments.”
A spokesman from the BC Securities Commission was not immediately available for comment.