Men disciplined for contravening B.C. securities laws

VANCOUVER, Feb. 17 /CNW/ - The British Columbia Securities Commission has agreed to settle with two B.C. men who admitted that they illegally distributed the securities of three foreign companies.

In separate settlement agreements with the BCSC's executive director, Glen Matthew, 68, and David Malcolm Ruthven, 63, admitted that Frey Mining Company Ltd., Moenkopi Resources Inc. and Mercury Capital S.A sold almost US $ 1.1 million of their securities to at least 33 investors.

The men acknowledged that the three companies have never filed a prospectus to distribute their securities in B.C. Frey Mining and Moenkopi Resources are based in Nevada, while Mercury Capital is based in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Between 2002 and 2006, Matthew acted as an investor relations representative for the three companies and helped to sell US $885,500 of their securities to 23 investors. During the same period, Ruthven acted as a finder for the companies and helped to sell US $497,000 of the companies' securities to 11 investors. Matthew and Ruthven were not registered to sell securities in B.C. at the time of the distributions.

By helping to solicit and facilitate the distributions without filing a prospectus and without being registered, Matthew and Ruthven contravened B.C. securities laws. Matthew also made misrepresentations to investors when he sold Moenkopi Resources and Mercury Capital securities.

Matthew received US $198,840 and Ruthven received US $29,775 for their efforts. Ruthven invested US $25,000 in Frey Mining and Mercury Capital securities. He has recovered US $5,000 on his Mercury Capital investment.

Under an order issued by the executive director, Matthew is banned for 15 years, with limited exceptions, from trading in and purchasing securities. He is also prohibited for 15 years from becoming or acting as a director or officer, acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with activities in the securities market, and engaging in investor relations activities.

There is no reasonable prospect of Matthew paying a fine of $150,000 that would otherwise be assessed in this matter.

Under a separate order, Ruthven is banned for five years, with limited exceptions, from trading in and purchasing securities, or becoming or acting as a director or officer of any issuer. He is also prohibited for five years from engaging in investor relations activities, and he undertakes to pay $18,000 to the BCSC.

A hearing into allegations against the three companies and Steven Peter Kyllo is scheduled to begin on March 8, 2010. The allegations against the respondents named in the amended notice of hearing have not been proven.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within the province. You may view the settlement agreements on our website www.bcsc.bc.ca by typing in the search box Glen Matthew, David Malcolm Ruthven, or 2010 BCSECCOM 79 or 96. If you have questions, contact Ken Gracey, media relations, 604-899-6577.

Learn how to avoid investment fraud at the BCSC's investor education website: www.investright.org.

For further information: Ken Gracey, [phone] or (Canada) 1-800-373-6393