Chutzpah l found this on Marc Crimeni I am finding some interesting stuff on Marc Crimeni, CEO and chairman of the Board. Just want to dig a little further on this...any good researchers out there?
BCSC investigates Crimeni : Eduverse.com vice-president is barred from doing investor relations
Business in Vancouver, June 1999
The B.C. Securities Commission is investigating Marc Crimeni, executive vice-president of Eduverse.com Accelerated Learning Systems Inc. (EDUV: OTCBB) for possible breaches of an order that bars him from engaging in investor relations.
In 1997, the commission found Crimeni guilty of misrepresenting himself on an information disclosure form filed with the commission in September 1995 when Crimeni became a director of Vancouver-based Boswell International Technologies Ltd.
Crimeni had claimed on the form that there were no outstanding criminal charges against him, when in fact he had been charged with cultivating and trafficking in marijuana and the storage and possession of illegal weapons, including a .357 Magnum handgun and nunchucks. The drug charges were dropped in November 1995 and in January 1996 Crimeni was placed on six months probation for improperly storing a firearm. He does not have a criminal record.
But in December 1997, in light of the misrepresentation on his disclosure form, the securities commission prohibited Crimeni from being a director of a B.C.-based company and barred him from promoting any company -- including those based in the U.S. -- to potential investors for a two-year period. The order does not expire until December 4, 1999.
In August 1998, Crimeni joined long-time friend Mark Bruk at Eduverse, a startup educational software developer that uses technology licensed from Boswell, where both Crimeni and Bruk had worked.
Bruk is the president and CEO of Eduverse while Crimeni is executive vice-president, responsible for sales and marketing at the new company, which has its marketing and development office and most of its 28 staff in Vancouver. The company has a small corporate office in Nevada.
Crimeni is also a shareholder in Eduverse, which is publicly traded on the U.S. over-the-counter bulletin board, but says he is not a director of the company -- although the Eduverse Web site lists him under its "director's biographies" page and he is named as a director in a company press release dated August 11, 1998.
Despite the commission's order, Crimeni recently told Business in Vancouver that he is engaged in activities that could be seen as promoting the company.
"I write all the press releases [for Eduverse]," said Crimeni, who later added, "I write all the words that come from the company."
When Business in Vancouver contacted the Securities Commission to confirm the conditions of the order against Crimeni, deputy enforcement director Lang Evans said the commission would launch an immediate investigation.
Writing information and press releases intended to influence potential investors would be a breach of the type of order against Crimeni, said Evans.
Although unable to discuss individuals under investigation, Evans stressed that the commission "expects full compliance with its orders and it will enforce them."
When asked again in a second interview if he wrote the company's press releases, Crimeni altered his story. "I helped
draft them along with the president," he said.
"I wasn't aware that I couldn't have any editorial input on press releases," he added.
Crimeni insisted he has never been involved in investor relations at Eduverse but refused any further comment.
The commission will now investigate Crimeni's activities at the company and decide if further action is needed.
If Crimeni is found to have breached the order against him, further prosecution is possible, but administrative sanctions -- including a fine of up to $100,000 or an indefinite ban on positions held within a company -- are more likely, said Steve Plummer, senior investigator at the commission.