A license to trade in securities from the “Securities and Exchange Commission of the Canada” isn’t good for much.
That’s the message the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is sending to Berik Yessirkegenov and his company, North American Business Equipment Corporation (NABEC).
The OSC alleges that the year between April, 2009 and 2010, Mr. Yessirkegenov implied to a pension fund in the Republic of Kazakhstan that the company was certified to make trades by the “Securities and Exchange Commission of the Canada.”
According to an OSC statement, the pension fund didn’t catch this misrepresentation and proceeded to send $8-million (U.S.) for the company to invest. Instead, NABEC supposedly hid where it invested the money (and the subsequent losses) through fake trading confirmations and account statements.
Mr. Yessirkegenov is now facing quasi-criminal charges for fraud and a maximum penalty of $5-million and five years in jail. A court date has been set for Aug. 28, 2012.
