The Ontario Securities Commission has approved a settlement agreement reached between OSC staff and Kevin Warren Zietsoff.
Zietsoff admitted to securities fraud and has agreed to be permanently banned from Ontario’s capital markets. In total, Zietsoff collected upwards of $15 million from more than 80 victims across Canada and the U.S., says the OSC. This occurred between 2006 and 2012.
Zietsoff also admitted to depriving his victims of more than $10 million, by selling them promissory note securities without registration, adds the commission. It finds Zietsoff lost the money on bad trades.
The remaining $5 million was paid out to investors as interest or repayment of principal, says OSC, which finds Zietsoff’s actions were conducted fraudulently, in a pattern of behaviour commonly known as a ponzi scheme.
On December 19, 2013, Zietsoff pled guilty to Fraud Over $5,000 pursuant to the Criminal Code in the Ontario Court of Justice based on the same facts included in the OSC’s settlement agreement. Zietsoff’s sentence hearing on his criminal conviction is scheduled for January 7, 2014 in Toronto.
This settlement is a result of a successful joint investigation between the OSC and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The OSC also acknowledges the assistance of the Arizona Corporation Commission in conducting this investigation.