A former London investment adviser could face professional discipline over his alleged involvement in a pyramid scheme.
Investment
Disciplinary hearing for ex-London investment adviser facing pyramid scheme allegations – The London Free Press
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A former London investment adviser could face professional discipline over his alleged involvement in a pyramid scheme.
Sean Nother, who had worked for CIBC World Markets Inc. since 2001, was dismissed in January for his alleged involvement in the so-called gifting club between May and August 2018, according to documents filed with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.
An unnamed organizer introduced Nother to the gifting club in May 2018. The club had multiple groups, known as clouds, each consisting of various levels. The top level, the birthday position, was occupied by one person, while the levels beneath had two, three and four members, says a notice of hearing posted on the regulator’s website.
The four bottom members were required to give $5,000 each to the birthday position holder, and had to bring in two new members to move up the ladder, the documents allege.
London investmet advisor Sean Nother, a former employee with CIBC Wood Gundy, faces professional discipline for his alleged involvement in a pyramid scheme.
The organizer offered to sponsor Nother to join the club, the documents allege, noting the Ontario Securities Commission previously had banned the organizer from selling investments for past misconduct involving clients.
Nother brought his lawyer to a meeting with the organizer in May 2018, and the lawyer said the club was legal from a tax perspective, the documents allege.
According to documents filed by the regulator, Nother was barred by his employer from outside business activity and asked his wife to join the club. She was elevated to the next level in summer 2018, despite not bringing in any new members, the documents allege.
Nother discussed the gifting club with seven clients, five of whom joined, and other non-clients, four of whom signed up, the documents allege.
According to documents filed by the regulator, Nother didn’t disclose his involvement in the gifting club to his employer and said new members were required to meet with the organizer and pay $5,000. But one of Nother’s clients and another non-client reported paying him the fee directly, with the understanding that he’d then pay the organizer, the documents allege.
According to the regulator, Nother says his wife quit the club in summer 2018 after the couple became uncomfortable with it. He also reported trying unsuccessfully to contact the organizer and get the money back for his clients and two non-clients, the documents allege.
According to documents filed by the regulator, Nother says he tried to reach the organizer again in November 2018, after reading a news report of London police charging two people for their alleged involvement in a gifting club. Nother had met one of the accused, Bernard Baratta, at a social event with the organizer in May 2018, the documents allege.
Baratta, 73, and Shakila Bayat, 52, were charged jointly with conducting or managing a pyramid scheme. They were sentenced Nov. 5 to 12 months’ probation under a conditional discharge, an outcome in which an admission of guilt is made but no conviction is registered.
Nother, who was not charged, maintained his club was separate from the one involving Baratta, the documents allege.
The organizer put an end to the club in December 2018, leaving the members brought in by Nother out $45,000, the documents allege, noting Nother reimbursed one person.
Nother is to appear before a hearing panel Jan 14 in Toronto. If the panel concludes the regulator’s allegations are true, it may impose penalties ranging from being reprimanded or fined to losing his licence or being barred from working in the finance industry.
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Investment
Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.
“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”
Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.
Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.
Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.
In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.
The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.
And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.
Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.
The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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