ASC sanctions Dale St. Jean, Gregory Tindall, TransCap Corporation and Strata-Trade Corporation for fraud

CALGARY, July 30, 2013 /CNW/ - The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has sanctioned Dale Joseph Edgar St. Jean, Gregory Dennis Tindall, TransCap Corporation and Strata-Trade Corporation for their capital-market misconduct.  An ASC panel found the named parties made material misleading or untrue statements to investors and to have perpetrated a fraud on Alberta investors. The ASC panel also found that St. Jean and Strata-Trade breached filing requirements and that Tindall concealed or withheld information reasonably required for an ASC investigation.

The ASC panel order that:

• St. Jean and Tindall are permanently banned from trading in or purchasing securities, using Alberta securities laws exemptions, acting as a director or officer of any issuer, registrant or investment fund manager and acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with securities market activities, and that they disgorge, individually or jointly, $9.6 million obtained as a result of non-compliance with Alberta securities laws;
• St. Jean pay an administrative penalty of $1.2 million and costs of $30,000;
• Tindall pay an administrative penalty of $750,000 and costs of $35,000; and
• TransCap and Strata-Trade are both permanently banned from trading in or purchasing securities, using Alberta securities laws exemptions, acting as a registrant, investment fund manager or promoter and acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with securities market activities, and that all trading in or purchasing of TransCap and Strata-Trade securities must permanently cease.

In making these orders, the ASC panel ruled: "The extreme seriousness of the false and misleading statements and fraudulent conduct argues for very significant sanctions against each Respondent."  It also noted:  "Significant and direct financial harm was done to the investors in this Ponzi scheme" that "has taken a predictable financial and emotional toll - certainly on investors who testified, but surely not on them alone among the much larger number of investors taken in by the scheme."

Copies of the sanction decision and merits decision can be found on the ASC website at www.albertasecurities.com.

The ASC is the regulatory agency responsible for administering the province's securities laws. It is entrusted to foster a fair and efficient capital market in Alberta and to protect investors.  As a member of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the ASC works to improve, coordinate and harmonize the regulation of Canada's capital markets.

SOURCE: Alberta Securities Commission

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