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Enforcement Roundup – January 2026 

The January Enforcement Roundup contains 1 enforcement action taken by the BCSC and 1 by CIRO. There are also 16 new additions to the Investment Caution List.

The January Enforcement Roundup contains information about 1 enforcement action taken by the BC Securities Commission (BCSC) and 1 by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). There are also 16 new additions to the Investment Caution List. 

BCSC Enforcement   

BCSC Sanctions   

Colin Jeffrey Heatherington and Lorne Stuart Allison 

The BCSC has banned Heatherington from participating in the investment market for life following his guilty plea in a US court to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud for his part in a penny stock scheme that led to US$215 million in investor losses. 

From 2004 to 2008, Heatherington oversaw the purchase of billions of shares of US-based penny stocks, which were then traded using various practices designed to fraudulently inflate their value. Heatherington, who was working as a trader for a group of hedge funds, personally gained at least US$15 million from this scheme. 

The BCSC has banned Allison for 10 years from participating in the investment market. He is also permanently prohibited from being a director or officer of any issuer or registrant and from becoming a registrant. 

Allison was registered as an employee of RBC’s Royal Mutual Funds Inc. to advise or trade in mutual funds. In November 2020, the firm was advised that Allison had asked two of his elderly clients to authorize opening online brokerage accounts, which was against the firm’s policies. Despite resigning from the securities industry, he continued to execute trades for three clients through online brokerage accounts in exchange for a fee, and also opened additional online brokerage accounts for two clients. 

Read the news release for full details.  

CIRO Enforcement   

CIRO Sanctions 

Franco Caligiuri 

Caligiuri admitted to referring clients to an individual or company that sold exempt securities, and received referral fees for doing so, thereby participating in a referral arrangement to which the Dealer Member was not a party; and made a false or misleading statement to the Dealer Member during a sub-branch review. 

Caligiuri agreed to a suspension from conducting securities-related activities with any CIRO Dealer Member for one month, beginning four days after the hearing panel accepts the settlement agreement. He also agreed to pay a $15,000 fine and costs of $5,000. 

Read the news release for full details. 

BCSC Early Intervention   

Our Investment Caution List notifies British Columbians about unqualified investments and unregistered activity originating outside the province but accepts BC residents as clients.   

Below are the January additions to the Investment Caution List:   

Saint Mary Capital 

Genus Capital Management (no relation to the BC registered firm Genus Capital Management Inc.) 

Inoquant 

LIBRA Capital LLC dba LIBRA (no relation to LIBRA CAPITAL L.L.C. – New York Department of State ID 2123028) 

CoinPEX 

Gold-XAUT 

Weex Coin 

Viterex 

Koinsglobal 

TW Pro (also known as TW Plus and PlusTW) 

UVSBIT 

SummitEdge Brokers 

DivisionCapital 

DSJ Exchange PTY Ltd. 

BG Wealth Sharing Ltd. 

Valtrix Group 

Report a Concern   

If you have concerns about a person or company offering an investment opportunity, please contact the BCSC Contact Centre at 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 or by e-mail at [email protected]. You can also file a complaint using BCSC’s online complaint form.   

If you have information relating to fraud or serious market misconduct, you can securely submit tips through our Whistleblower program. Qualified tips may be eligible for cash rewards up to $500,000.   

InvestRight.org is the BC Securities Commission’s investor education website. Subscribe to receive email updates from BCSC InvestRight.  

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