OSC Panel Finds Andrea McCarthy, BFM Industries Inc. and Liquid Gold International Inc. in Breach of the Securities Act

TORONTO - In a decision released today, an Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) panel found that Andrea McCarthy (McCarthy) acquiesced in a fraud by two companies of which she was a director and officer: BFM Industries Inc. (BFM) and Liquid Gold International Inc. (Liquid Gold). The Commission also found that McCarthy and the companies illegally distributed securities and traded without registration.

Sandy Winick (Winick) was the directing mind of BFM and Liquid Gold while the frauds, illegal distributions and unregistered trading took place. The Commission found that McCarthy, although legally a director and officer of BFM and Liquid Gold, acted at Winick’s direction when she incorporated the companies, communicated with investors and withdrew funds from the corporate accounts. The Commission also found that payments were made from the Liquid Gold and BFM accounts to Winick’s credit cards and to companies he controlled.

The BFM Scheme ran from November 2008 to December 2010 and the Liquid Gold Scheme ran from May 2009 to November 2010. In those periods, the two frauds brought in a total of $445,000 by selling worthless BFM and Liquid Gold securities to 32 investors outside Canada. BFM and Liquid Gold claimed to be selling their shares through a Singapore investment bank that McCarthy subsequently admitted did not exist at all.

On January 21, 2013, McCarthy and the companies were severed from a proceeding that also included Winick, Greg Curry, Kolt Curry, Laura Mateyak, American Heritage Stock Transfer Inc., and American Heritage Stock Transfer, Inc. The Commission has already found Winick liable for his leading role in the frauds perpetrated by BFM and Liquid Gold.

Submissions in this matter were heard on December 10, 2013. A copy of the Reasons and Decision on the Merits is available on the OSC website at www.osc.ca. A sanctions hearing has not yet been scheduled. [OSC Web Editor's Correction Note dated 2014-01-06: The original text "A sanctions hearing has not yet been scheduled." should have appeared as "A sanctions hearing has been scheduled for March 12, 2014."]

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in capital markets. Investors are urged to check the registration of any person or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC’s investor materials available at www.osc.ca.

 

-30-