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by Mike Caswell

Federal prosecutors in Boston have requested a three-month jail term for Shane Schmidt, a Vancouverite who pleaded guilty to charges arising from the 2020 pump-and-dump of a "wearable tech" listing on the OTC Markets. They say that Mr. Schmidt used an alias and fake documents to take control of a defunct company and then had it reinstated for trading. Paid promoters subsequently boosted the company with messages like "Shares of this stock set to go up 200% today."

The request from prosecutors comes as part of their case against Mr. Schmidt for the Sandy Steele Unlimited Inc. pump-and-dump. They claim that Mr. Schmidt helped with a scheme that boosted the stock to 60 cents from 10 cents amidst claims about "revolutionary heated garments." (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) There was no trial for Mr. Schmidt, as he pleaded guilty to a charge of securities fraud.

With Mr. Schmidt's sentencing date approaching, prosecutors have set out what they see as an appropriate punishment. In a memorandum filed on Friday, Aug. 8, they say that Mr. Schmidt's conduct warrants a "moderate but meaningful" prison sentence. While Mr. Schmidt's part in the Sandy Steele scheme was a relatively minor one, it included what prosecutors describe as a "series of conscious, fraudulent choices" that occurred over a one-year period.

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