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by Mike Caswell

Vancouver's Marco Babini, facing the possibility of a permanent penny stock ban in the United States for an OTC Markets scheme from 2013, has asked a judge to reject the ban. He says that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission skewed the evidence against him in an unfair and disproportionate way. He was involved with a company that had a legitimate business plan and was cited by the SEC over a single trade that he later cancelled, he says.

The request from Mr. Babini comes as part of a case in which the SEC claims that he and others were behind the attempted pump-and-dump of Endeavor Power Corp., a supposed medical diagnostics company. The men tried to boost the stock with a kickback arrangement, prearranged trades and paid tout sheets, the SEC claimed. The scheme only came to an end when the stock was halted, the SEC said.

There was no trial for Mr. Babini, as he agreed to settle the matter out of court. As part of that settlement, he accepted an injunction barring future violations, and agreed that the judge would determine if a penny stock ban was appropriate. The SEC then asked the judge for a permanent ban, describing Mr. Babini's part in the scheme as being "pervasive and critical." Among other things, he manipulated the stock and paid for fraudulent promotions, the SEC claimed. He and his co-accused ultimately sought to enrich themselves at the expense of "innocent, falsely informed" investors, according to the SEC.

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