A Surrey resident and a Burnaby man involved in a B.C.-based mineral exploration company have reached a settlement agreement with the British Columbia Securities Commission after failing to accurately disclose their trades and shareholdings.
Surrey resident Richard Ryan Penn, CEO, and Burnaby resident Roman Reuven Rubin, former CFO and Secretary of Black Tusk Resources Inc. were also directors of the company, trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange.
According to the BCSC, the pair failed to file early warning reports and issue news releases when their holdings of Black Tusk’s common shares decreased. As company insiders, they were required to report their trades in its securities on a publicly accessible System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders.
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A BCSC press release issued Jan. 6 indicates that Penn between January 2018 and December 2020 failed to report 87 per cent of transactions he engaged in that were required to be filed. This involved shares valued at $1,155,947. Rubin failed to report 96 per cent of the transactions he engaged in that were required to be filed, involving shares valued at $646,566.
“In addition, Black Tusk falsely stated the amount of shares that Penn and Rubin held. By doing so, the company made a false or misleading statement in a required filing. As directors, Penn and Rubin are liable for this misconduct,” the press release states.
Penn as part of the settlement paid $75,000 to BCSC and Rubin paid $65,000.
Both must also complete a course “on the duties and responsibilities of directors and officers of public companies.” Both have since made their required filings on SEDI and have paid their late fees, and have also directed Black Tusk to publish news releases that correct the disclosure of their shareholdings.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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