Whether he wants it or not. Here are a couple of excerpts from this Mike Caswell Stockwatch report (also here)
Ontario’s
Bobby Genovese has lost a motion to dismiss civil charges that he faces
from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over the manipulation
of Liberty Silver Corp. in 2012. He had argued that the charges were
unacceptably vague and fell short of making a case for securities fraud.
Unfortunately for Mr. Genovese, a New York judge has determined that
the allegations are sufficient for trial.The
ruling is part of a case in which the SEC cited Mr. Genovese for his
sale of $17.5-million worth of Liberty Silver shares. (All figures are
in U.S. dollars.) The regulator had accused him of touting the stock
without disclosing his sale of millions of shares. Among other things,
he arranged for promotional newsletters and enlisted the help of a New
York brokerage to boost the company, the SEC said.Mr.
Genovese had asked that the judge drop the case, saying the SEC
provided so few details that the matter was not worth taking to trial.
In a motion to dismiss filed on Feb. 2, 2018, he contended that there
was nothing to indicate that he misled anybody in selling his Liberty
Silver shares. He claimed that he had repeatedly disclosed his interest
in the company. Mr. Genovese also questioned if any rational investor
would stay away from the stock simply because he intended to sell his
shares for a profit.The
matter landed before U.S. District Court Judge Richard Sullivan, who
has ruled entirely against Mr. Genovese. In a relatively brief decision,
dated June 29, 2018, the judge has determined that parts of the SEC’s
case, in legal speak, “clearly satisfy the materiality elements” as well
as the “particularity requirement.” In other words, the allegations are
strong enough to proceed.
AND
That
trial will hear allegations that the SEC set out in a civil complaint
filed on Aug. 1, 2017, in the Southern District of New York. The case
centred around the 2012 manipulation of Liberty Silver, a purported
exploration company. At the time Liberty Silver traded on the Toronto
Stock Exchange and on the OTC Bulletin Board. (It has since rolled back
1:15 and is now known as Bunker Hill Mining Corp. The company is not a
defendant in the case.)The
SEC claimed that Mr. Genovese was behind an effort to tout the stock
through newsletters and through presentations to brokers. According to
the SEC, he told a group of brokers in New York that he expected Liberty
Silver to go to $7. He failed to disclose that he was a substantial
shareholder and that he planned to sell his stock, the SEC said. Around
the same time, Mr. Genovese was arranging to have newsletter writers
publish promotional pieces about Liberty Silver, the SEC claimed. One
unidentified Canadian newsletter writer received a $30,000 set of
speakers for his efforts, according to the complaint.The
SEC further accused Mr. Genovese of executing wash trades in support of
the scheme, with those trades beginning on Oct. 3, 2012. The trading
boosted the stock by 10 cents to $1.43, the SEC claimed. Two days later,
on Oct. 5, 2012, the SEC ended the scheme by imposing a trading halt on
Liberty Silver. By that time, Mr. Genovese had sold $17.5-million worth
of shares, generating an $8-million profit, according to the complaint.
That’d be James West with those speakers, right? Read the whole thing for more