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by Mike Caswell

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed a permanent ban on Steve Bajic, the Vancouver man charged over the illegal sale of shares in at least 45 companies. The SEC claimed that Mr. Bajic and others helped insiders unload $35-million worth of stock over a four-year period. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) His group provided a "layer of disguise" to insiders looking to secretly sell shares on the market, according to the SEC.

The penalties for Mr. Bajic are contained in a proposed judgment filed on Tuesday, July 7, in federal court in New York. The decision permanently bars Mr. Bajic from penny stocks and includes terms prohibiting future violations. In addition, Mr. Bajic must disgorge $837,734 in gains. The penalties are a negotiated settlement, which still requires approval from the judge.

Tuesday's judgment comes with Mr. Bajic having previously avoided any jail time for the scheme. He faced related criminal charges in Boston, where prosecutors had asked the judge for one year of incarceration. Ahead of sentencing, they said that Mr. Bajic "made a series of conscious, fraudulent choices" over a period of five years as he helped numerous pump-and-dumps.

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