If the dentist is such an expert why could he never figure out the infamous NSS promotor Brent Pierce and crew were crooks? If DeCosta is an expert, we are all Einsteins. lol
IMO, this is the most interesting statement Urquhart alleges:
He alleges they get control of these companies by installing people under their control or influence to act as officers and directors, or to provide consulting services, or to acquire shares and stock options in the public companies.
Then they "engage in campaigns to publicize and ultimately raise the price of the stock," sell their holdings and "walk away with million of dollars in profits."
Urquhart claims that, due to their past troubles with securities regulators and legal authorities, the trio "learned to seize ownership, control and/or influence over a corporation from behind the scenes" and concentrated their promotional activities on companies registered in the United States.
Lawsuit alleges banned promoter worked behind the scenes
By David Baines, Vancouver Sun July 3, 2010
Last in a series
Last week, Calgary professional engineer David Urquhart filed a lawsuit in Nevada alleging that notorious West Vancouver promoter Gordon Brent Pierce and two associates have been working behind the scenes to promote U.S. over-the-counter stock deals.
Urquhart worked for several of these companies -- including Mainland Resources Inc., Geneva Resources Inc. and Morgan Creek Energy Corp. -- during 2007 and 2008, which presumably gave him some insight into what was going on.
The relationship ended badly, however. Urquhart claims Pierce and his associates failed to pay thousands of dollars in cash, shares and options which they had allegedly promised him.
In his 178-page statement of claim filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada, Urquhart alleges in meticulous detail how Pierce and his longtime associates -most notably convicted felon Vaughn Barbon and former stock offender Gino Cicci -ran the affairs of Mainland, Geneva and Morgan Creek and several other U.S. public companies from a highrise office in downtown Vancouver
The allegations -if true -are serious, because at the time, Pierce was still serving a 15-year stock market suspension in B.C. for serious securities offences. That prohibited him from acting as an officer, director or consultant for any B.C. reporting issuer, or from trading securities of any kind in B.C., or doing anything in furtherance of a trade.
It should be noted, however, that Urquhart's allegations have not been proven or even tested, and that they were motivated by a dispute over compensation.
It should also be noted that Pierce's regulatory problems were well known in the market, and that Urquhart knew, or ought to have known, Pierce was under suspension when he agreed to work for the public companies that Pierce and his associates were allegedly controlling.
In the lawsuit, Urquhart says Pierce has helped several startup companies go public, and Barbon and Cicci are his "right hands."
Barbon previously worked as an administration manager for Montreal Trust. In 1991, he pleaded guilty to embezzling $2.2 million from the trust company and was sentenced to two years in jail.
Cicci is a longtime Howe Street stock promoter. In 1995, the B.C. Securities Commission found he had disseminated misleading promotional material about a Vancouver Stock Exchange company, and prohibited him from becoming an officer or director of any B.C. public company for three years.
Urquhart alleges in his lawsuit that the three men "have a long history of acting as the non-publicly-disclosed alter egos of public companies in the United States."
Those companies include Lexington Resources Inc., Transax International Ltd., Goldstate Corp., Petrogen Corp., Genemax Corp, Uranium Energy Corp., Geneva Resources Inc. and Uranium International Corp.
He alleges they get control of these companies by installing people under their control or influence to act as officers and directors, or to provide consulting services, or to acquire shares and stock options in the public companies.
Then they "engage in campaigns to publicize and ultimately raise the price of the stock," sell their holdings and "walk away with million of dollars in profits."
Urquhart claims that, due to their past troubles with securities regulators and legal authorities, the trio "learned to seize ownership, control and/or influence over a corporation from behind the scenes" and concentrated their promotional activities on companies registered in the United States.
Urquhart further alleges that Pierce used several private consulting companies to provide promotional and capital-raising services to the public companies.
Those companies include Investor Communications International Inc., International Market Trend AG and Tristar Financial Services Inc., all of which operated out of Blaine, Wash., and shared an office with four of the public companies: Lexington, Genemax, Petrogen and Transax.
Urquhart also alleges that Pierce, Barbon and Cicci control Pierco Petroleum Inc. Although not mentioned in the lawsuit, Pierco is a private B.C.-registered company that lists Barbon and his longtime associate, Robert Harris, as directors.
Pierco operates out of an office on the 12th floor of 666 Burrard St. When I called there last week, Pierce answered the phone, but declined to talk to me. The receptionist said Barbon and Bruce Paige, whom she identified as Pierco's lawyer, also work out of that office.
In his lawsuit, Urquhart provides details of a series of meetings he had with Pierce, Barbon and Cicci at Pierco's office during 2007 and 2008 (before the expiration of Pierce's securities suspension in June 2008).
Some of the meetings allegedly related to Geneva Resources, for which Urquhart acted as a consultant. For example, he claims that on Dec. 12, 2007, he met with Pierce and Cicci at Pierco's office to discuss Geneva's Nigerian project.
He says that in January 2008, he reported that the Nigerian property did not have a commercial deposit and the company decided to abandon it, but did not publicly disclose that decision. He alleges that in June 2008, when an unidentified Canadian lawyer was working on providing proper disclosure, he sought information from Cicci, Barbon and other people whom he alleges were under Pierce's control.
Although not mentioned in the lawsuit, Geneva's stock price soared to $1.90 on heavy volume based on sample results from the Nigerian project that were provided by Urquhart.
A few weeks ago, under pressure from the B.C. Securities Commission, the company admitted it had taken those samples out of context, and failed to disclose its decision to abandon the property in a timely manner. The stock is now trading at 23 cents.
In his lawsuit, Urquhart claims he had another meeting at Pierco's office on Feb. 13, 2008, with Pierce, Cicci and Michael Newport, the president of Mainland Resources Inc., a made-in-Vancouver shell company that morphed into an oil and gas exploration company.
Urquhart said the meeting was held to discuss Mainland's interest in a natural gas prospect in Louisiana, known as the DeSoto Parish Prospect. "During this meeting, it was reiterated that Mr. Pierce wanted Mr. Urquhart to serve as a director of Mainland," Urquhart stated in his lawsuit.
More generally, the lawsuit alleges that Pierce had ultimate control over the timing and content of Mainland's news releases, and that Barbon and Cicci often controlled the timing and content of those releases.
Mainland's U.S. lawyer, Rosa Solis-Rainy, declined to comment on any of Urquhart's allegations: "Mainland intends to respond to Mr. Urquhart's allegations and pursue substantial counterclaims against Mr. Urquhart in due course -- in court, not in the press," she said.
Urquhart notes in the lawsuit that Pierce wanted "solid prospects for development." There is no question that Mainland holds some worthwhile oil and gas assets.
It recently announced the sale of some of those assets for $28 million. It also has a credible joint venture partner in Petrohawk Energy Corp., which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
However, Mainland's stock price, which peaked at $6.90 in heavy trading in August 2008, has since slumped to $1.12 (before taking into account a two-for-one stock split.)
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