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by Mike Caswell

Andrew McAlpine, a former Toronto broker who pleaded guilty to U.S. charges arising from an OTC Markets pump-and-dump, appears poised to avoid any significant sanctions. Although the government calculated the scheme to have generated millions of dollars, prosecutors are seeking restitution of just $18,066 for Mr. McAlpine. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The restitution would be on top of the six months of house arrest that he previously received.

Prosecutors claimed that Mr. McAlpine placed manipulative trades in a supposed cellphone developer called Argus Worldwide Inc. while he secretly dumped the stock for others. The trading came amidst a paid promotional campaign that touted the company as being "in a position to make a potential run!" There was no trial for Mr. McAlpine, as he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and received the house arrest sentence on Jan. 30, 2023.

At sentencing, the judge left the matter of Mr. McAlpine's monetary sanctions, or restitution, for determination at a later date. To that end, California prosecutors filed a motion on Monday, Dec. 4, in which they requested the $18,066. They say that the amount represents investor losses that can be attributed to Mr. McAlpine. The figure is based on investors who submitted a victim impact statement. With Mr. McAlpine, the government was only able to obtain 22 such statements.

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