OSC extends CTO in crypto case

By James Langton | October 20, 2020 | Last updated on October 20, 2020
2 min read

An Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) hearing panel has ordered that a cease trade order (CTO) against two men and various crypto companies is to be extended until a separate regulatory proceeding against the two men is completed.

According to the panel’s decision, the OSC launched an investigation into Sean Daley, Kevin Wilkerson and several companies — Ascension Foundation, OTO.Money, SilentVault and CryptoWealth, Wealth Distributed Corp., Cybervision MMX Inc. and Aug Enterprises Inc. — in 2018.

The regulator obtained a CTO against Daley and Wilkerson and the various companies in August 2019.

In November 2019, the OSC brought enforcement action against Daley and Wilkerson, alleging that they had obstructed an OSC investigation into whether offerings involving the various crypto companies violated securities law.

The obstruction allegations have not been proven and the commission has not yet made any allegations against the companies. According to the hearing panel’s decision, that investigation is ongoing.

The OSC has now ordered that the CTO be extended until the separate enforcement proceeding involving Daley and Wilkerson is completed. The regulator concluded that there’s a “sufficient connection” between Daley and Wilkerson and the various companies named in the CTO to justify an extension that applies to all of them.

The OSC ruled that the order should be extended until the related proceedings are concluded. The hearing in that case is scheduled for April 2021.

“The investor protection concerns are still present,” the OSC panel said in its decision. “The investigation is ongoing but has been frustrated by the alleged conduct of Daley and Wilkerson. In these circumstances, I find that it is appropriate to extend the temporary order until the end of the merits hearing in the [obstruction case].”

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James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.