Three Canadian businessmen were fingered as stock swindlers by U.S. authorities accusing them of an international pump-and-dump stock plot that generated more than US$35 million.
The Canadians face a securities fraud enforcement action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly being a part of an elaborate illicit penny stock scheme that used a variety of firms registered on four different continents.
The accused Canadians are Steve M. Bajic, 49, of Burnaby, B.C., who is a dual citizen of Canada and Croatia; Rajesh Taneja, 43, a Canadian living in Vietnam; and Christopher Lee McKnight, 45, who lives in an unspecified location in Canada.
Another Canadian, who is a dual citizen of Mexico, who allegedly ran a company at the direction of Bajic and Taneja, is referred to in the complaint but not named in it or charged.
Two people from Britain and one from the United States are also accused.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
Bajic has since complained the U.S. governments heavy-handed asset freezing order left him unable to care for his family or pay for a legal defence.
It is having devastating consequences for Mr. Bajic, says a letter sent to the judge on Bajics behalf by New York lawyer Robert Anello.
Bajics lawyer blasted the prejudgment asset freezing order obtained behind closed doors, referring to it as the nuclear weapon of the law. The order froze all of Bajics considerable assets, including a multi-million dollar home in Burnaby, BC, and financial accounts, many of them in Vancouver financial institutions as well as in foreign banks, to protect the money from disappearing in the event it is ordered forfeited.
The SEC has not set forth a single fact that would suggest that Mr. Bajic, who has known about this investigation since July 2018, has done anything to hide any of his assets, Anello wrote.
The Commission has also provided no factual support for its claims that Mr. Bajic has engaged in securities fraud.
Nonetheless, as a result of the Order, Mr. Bajic can no longer access funds to pay his reasonable living expenses (including the costs associated with the care of his two young daughters) or pay attorneys fees.
As the Commission is aware, Mr. Bajic is involved in a number of legal issues requiring his representation. Details on his other legal issues were not elaborated.
A new order
In response to Bajics complaint, a new order was negotiated to allow him to spend income from his current employment and to liquidate some assets including 22 financial accounts at Canadian investment firms, banks and a Vancouver credit union to fund living expenses and legal fees.
U.S. District Court Judge Lorna Schofield in the Southern District of New York approved that new order last week.
The SEC alleges the accused used a variety of companies registered overseas including in Seychelles, Hong Kong, Thailand, Switzerland and the Caribbean island of Anguilla in stock sale schemes that generated more than US$35 million of illegal sales in at least 45 small companies.
The SEC alleges in court documents that two of the Canadians, Bajic and Taneja, helped shareholders secretly dump large quantities of microcap stock. This was allegedly coordinated with Kenneth Ciapala, a dual British and Swiss citizen, and Anthony Killarney, a British citizen, using a Swiss-based company.
Further, McKnight, the third Canadian, and Aaron Wise, a U.S. citizen, fraudulently transferred and hid the sources of the funds used to promote several of the microcap stocks.
(A microcap is a publicly-traded company that has a small market capitalization, usually between about $50 million and $300 million. They are often more volatile and riskier investments as they have fewer resources available to them.)
The SEC charged Bajic, Taneja, Killarney, Ciapala, and their companies with violating the antifraud and registration provisions of U.S. securities law and with acting as unregistered broker-dealers. McKnight and Wise were charged with aiding and abetting the fraudulent stock sales. McKnight was also charged with violating an antifraud provision of U.S. securities law.
Requests for comment from Bajic went unanswered prior to deadline. None of the other accused had legal representation noted in court and could not be reached for comment.
Email: ahumphreys@postmedia.com | Twitter:
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Canadian businessmen accused in $35-million international pump-and-dump stock plot - National Post
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