The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has settled with Prince George man, Peter Arthur William Wise and B.C. company, Microline Veneer and Forest Products Corp. after Wise admitted to trading without registration and also the illegal distribution of the company's shares.
Wise was a director of Microline, a wood pellet manufacturing company that is located in Malakwa B.C. and as such he was responsible for the distribution of the company’s common shares.
From January 2007 to June 2007, Wise, through Microline, admitted to distributing securities to 20 investors for proceeds of approximately $1 million without being registered under B.C. securities laws and without filing prospectus with the commission.
Microline and Wise claimed to be relying on exemptions from securities laws, however there were no exemptions available to them due to the fact that the investors were not accredited or close personal friends or business associates. As a result the BCSC found that B.C. securities laws were contravened.
The BCSC also reports that Wise was a former mutual fund salesperson.
As part of the settlement agreement, Wise paid $15,000 to the BCSC and he is prohibited, with limited exceptions, from trading any securities or becoming and acting as a director or officer of any issuer for three years.
Wise is also prohibited, for three years, from acting as a manager or consultant in connection with activities in the securities market and also from engaging in investor relations activities.
According to a BCSC release, under the agreement, Microline’s securities are unable to be traded permanently, with some limited exceptions.
In addition, Microline can not trade securities or exchange contracts for the same period.
The BCSC say that Wise currently lives and works in Prince George. Wise was previously working for Western Chartered Financial Inc. during March 2010 when a temporary order prohibiting him and Microline from participating in B.C.'s capital markets was issued by the BCSC.