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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has won a $472,484 disgorgement order against Vancouver's Robert Hillis Miller over a scheme involving the improper sale of millions of shares in an OTC Markets listing. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC claimed that Mr. Miller ran a scheme in which he held shares of Abakan Inc., a purported materials coating company, through front companies in Uruguay. He secretly sold $1.39-million worth of shares in unregistered offerings, the SEC said.

The $472,484 sanction is contained in an order handed down by a federal judge in Maryland on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The money comprises a portion of Mr. Miller's gains from the scheme, with interest still to be calculated. The amount is in addition to a $160,000 fine that the judge previously imposed. On top of that, the judge previously banned Mr. Miller for 10 years.

While Tuesday's order brings Mr. Miller's total owing to $632,484, the likelihood of collecting the money could be slim. During his trial, he testified that he had made himself "judgment proof." He described his efforts to keep his assets offshore and beyond the reach of creditors, testifying: "My business now, by the way, just so you know, is in Africa, in Brazil heavily, because I'm an expert at Brazil. And I'm in lithium in Argentina. And my assets are held by these offshore companies until I get out of this mess."

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