The Supreme Court of Canada has declined to hear the appeal of Frederick Langford Sharp, a West Vancouver businessman who faces a US$29 million penalty for allegedly orchestrating a $1-billion international pump-and-dump stock fraud. The high court issued its decision this week without providing reasons, as is customary.
Background of the case
Sharp, now in his 70s, owes penalties to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that were deemed enforceable in British Columbia by a B.C. Supreme Court judgment in 2024. In 2022, a U.S. Federal Court issued a US$53 million judgment against Sharp after he failed to respond to SEC allegations. The penalty includes US$28.9 million in profits Sharp allegedly netted between 2011 and 2019, plus interest, and a fine of nearly US$24 million.
Alleged scheme details
The SEC alleged that Sharp was the mastermind of a massive pump-and-dump stock fraud that used sophisticated platforms to conceal control of millions of shares in several penny stock companies. In such a scheme, low-priced stocks are secretly accumulated by owners and sold at inflated prices through false promotions, then dumped at a profit, defrauding unsuspecting investors.
Legal actions in Canada and the U.S.
The SEC sued in B.C. to recover the profits Sharp netted. In 2024, a B.C. Supreme Court ordered a freezing order on assets belonging to Sharp and others involved in the fraud. Sharp and other individuals also face criminal charges in the U.S. related to the alleged stock fraud.
