Canada’s high court won’t hear appeal of B.C. man facing US$29 million stock fraud penalties
Canada’s high court won’t hear appeal from B.C. man facing US$29 million stock fraud penalties
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The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of a West Vancouver businessman who faces a US$29 million penalty in B.C. for allegedly masterminding a $1-billion international pump-and-dump stock fraud.
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The high court issued its decision this week, and as usual, provided no reason for not hearing the appeal.
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Frederick Langford Sharp, in his 70s, owes U.S. Securities Commission penalties that were determined to be enforceable in British Columbia in a B.C. Supreme Court judgment in 2024.
In 2022, a U.S. Federal Court issued a US$53-million judgment against Sharp in the stock fraud after he did not respond to the SEC allegations.
The U.S. regulator alleged Sharp was the mastermind in a massive pump-and-dump stock fraud that used sophisticated platforms to hide control of millions of shares of several penny stock companies.
In a pump-and-dump scheme, low-priced stocks, often called penny stocks, are amassed secretly by owners and sold at inflated prices through false promotions. The stocks are then dumped at a profit at the expense of unsuspecting investors.
Sharp’s penalties of US$53 million include a repayment of US$28.9 million in profits he netted in the alleged scheme between 2011 and 2019 plus interest — and a fine of nearly US$24 million.
The SEC sued in B.C. for the profits that Sharp netted.
In 2024, a B.C. Supreme Court ordered a freezing order of assets of Sharp and others involved in the stock fraud.
Sharp and others also face criminal charges in the U.S. related to the alleged stock fraud.
