On October 17, 2012, a hearing panel of IIROC accepted a settlement agreement between IIROC staff and James William Watson.
Watson admitted that between November 2010 and April 2011 he contravened UMIR 2.2(2) and UMIR Policy 2.2 by entering orders for a security listed on the TSX-Venture Exchange that he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, would create, or could reasonably be expected to create, a false or misleading appearance of trading activity in or interest in the purchase of the security or an artificial bid price for the security.
Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Watson agreed to pay a $10,000 fine to IIROC and to a suspension of access to IIROC-regulated marketplaces for a period of 14 days. Watson also agreed to pay costs in the amount of $1,500.
IIROC formally initiated the investigation into Watson’s conduct in August 2011. The conduct occurred when Watson was a registered representative with the Toronto head office of Jones, Gable & Company Limited, an IIROC-regulated firm.
Watson is still a registered representative at Jones, Gable & Company Limited.