The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced that an individual was sentenced to four years in jail and ordered to pay over $3.9 million in restitution for trading securities without registration and fraud related to activities at a purported hedge fund, while their partners received probation and trading bans for related offences.
Nathanael Anthony Aikman has been sentenced to four years in jail and ordered to pay restitution. Justice Rondinelli of the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto sentenced Aikman in absentia.
Aikman pled guilty to charges under the Securities Act (Ontario), including one count of trading securities without registration and one count of fraud. His guilty plea pertains to his activities as a trader for Yonge Street Capital LLC (YSC), a supposed hedge fund.
The OSC reported that between October 27, 2016, and August 30, 2019, 71 individuals invested over $6.2 million in YSC. Aikman admitted to falsifying the returns from his trading activities. A substantial portion of the funds obtained through this fraud was misappropriated by Aikman for purposes unrelated to YSC’s business, causing significant detriment to investors.
Aikman faced charges alongside his partners in YSC, Syed Saad Aziz and Jazib Ali Khan. Aziz pled guilty to one count of unregistered trading. Subsequently, Justice Botham of the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto imposed a two-year probation order. As part of a settlement agreement with the OSC, Aziz also agreed to a 10-year ban on trading securities and to disgorge $60,000.
Following a trial in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto, Justice Giourgas convicted Khan of unregistered trading and illegal distribution. Justice Giourgas imposed a suspended sentence and a two-year probation order on Khan. Neither Aziz nor Khan were found guilty of fraud.
The OSC’s mandate includes protecting investors from unfair, improper, or fraudulent practices, fostering fair, efficient, and competitive capital markets, and promoting confidence in these markets. The OSC advises investors to verify the registration of any individual or company offering investment opportunities and to utilize OSC's investor materials.