British Columbia Securities Commission: Investment Dealer and Registrant Admit to Contravening Cease Trade Order

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 13, 2009) - The British Columbia Securities Commission has settled with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and one of its employees after they admitted to trading an issuer's securities that were cease traded by the regulator. On Aug. 1, 2007, BCSC staff issued a cease trade order (CTO) against Raven Gold Corp., an issuer that trades on the OTC Bulletin Board in the United States. On Aug. 2, 2007, the BMO Nesbitt Burns trade desk and its representatives received an e-mail notifying them of the Raven CTO, but due to an internal error, it was not entered into the investment dealer's system. Between Aug. 2, 2007 and Oct. 2, 2007, Jaime Alejandro Torres, a registered representative and salesperson, who works for BMO Nesbitt Burns in B.C., traded Raven securities for three different clients in 11 separate transactions, earning commissions of $262.71. Torres claimed he was not aware of the CTO at the time of the trades because it was not in the investment dealer's computerized order matching system. In addition, in October 2007, a second BMO Nesbitt Burns investment adviser accepted two orders for the purchase of Raven shares. On Nov. 15, 2007, the firm cancelled these trades and sold the Raven shares out of an internal error account, contrary to the CTO. The firm earned $1,020.27 for the trades. Torres paid $3,500 and BMO Nesbitt Burns paid $5,000 to the BCSC for contravening the Raven CTO. The amounts include commissions earned from the trades. The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within the province. You may view the decision on our website www.bcsc.bc.ca by typing in the search box, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Jaime Alejandro Torres, or 2009 BCSECCOM 438. If you have questions, contact Ken Gracey, media relations, 604-899-6577. Learn how to avoid investment fraud at the BCSC's investor education website: www.investright.org.