ASC The Alberta Securities Commission has determined that Coastal Pacific Mining Corp., a company that went to 50 cents from 3.5 cents in 2010, was the product of a blatant market manipulation. The stock went up as misleading tout sheets and daily news releases reported a potential $1-billion mine. This occurred while offshore accounts sold millions of shares, the ASC has found.
The findings, released on Wednesday, Jan. 4, are largely symbolic. The two people accused of running the scheme, Joseph Bucci and Caroline Danforth, have already pleaded guilty to related criminal charges. (Ms. Danforth, who is also known as Caroline Meyers, received a two-year sentence. Her term represented the first ever jail sentence in Alberta for market manipulation. Mr. Bucci pleaded guilty before Ms. Danforth, but he avoided jail because of health problems and received an 18-month conditional term.)
After the criminal convictions, the ASC proceeded with an administrative action against Coastal Pacific. The matter went before a panel for a one-day hearing on Nov. 24, 2016. The evidence consisted largely of admissions made by Mr. Bucci and Ms. Danforth as part of their criminal prosecutions.