Replies to post #302678 on Sulja Bros. Building Supplies, Ltd (SLJB)

[marketmann]

that funny. we both know sljb made no profit. only shareholders lost money though. is that what you meant?

[janice shell]

Stock market watchdog pursues illegal profits

BY GARY RENNIE, THE WINDSOR STARDECEMBER 1, 2010 12:02 AM

TORONTO Ontario Securities Commission lawyers are trying to recover as much as $6 million in profits from the Sulja Brothers Building Supplies "pump and dump" stock fraud that swindled thousands of small investors across North America.

But the five Essex County people convicted - and who now face fines of $125,000 to $750,000 - claimed they made little from the penny stock sales and were now mostly broke.

"The money I have in my pocket is all I have," said Petar Vucicevich of Colchester after an OSC hearing Tuesday was told he made about $3.4 million from the stock fraud.

Vucicevich blamed his Texas partner Andrew DeVries and a slew of lawyers for bad advice that led him and others to think what they were doing was legal.

He claimed one lawyer kept $350,000 of his money that was supposed to pay his taxes. Revenue Canada is now chasing him for $240,000 in taxes owing, Vucicevich said.

A different view came from OSC lawyer Usman Sheikh, who said close to 500 million shares of Sulja stock were sold to investors while a 100 or so press releases were issued claiming business deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars were being made.

"The respondents were in effect printing money," said Sheikh. There is "not a scintilla of evidence to support the vast majority of their claims," he said.

Sheikh asked for a $750,000 fine against both Vucicevich and DeVries, and a "disgorgement" order that would attempt to find and seize money and other assets realized from the fraud. Anything recovered would go into an OSC investor education fund.

Fines of $125,000 each were sought against brothers Steve and Sam Sulja, Pranab Shah and Tracey Banumas as lesser figures in the stock fraud.

Vucicevich asked for a one-year delay on any fine imposed so he could defend himself on a criminal fraud charge laid by the RCMP, who also investigated the penny stock sales. Vucicevich said he couldn't afford a lawyer.

OSC hearing panel members Patrick LeSage and Senan Akendiz reserved a decision on the sentencing. LeSage warned Vucicevich that the odds weren't good for getting the one-year delay.

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