B.C. regulator issues temporary order after 'repeatedly' warning man, company over alleged violations

The B.C. Securities Commission logo in an undated file photo.

B.C.'s financial markets regulator has issued a temporary order against a B.C. company and a man connected to it, arguing that waiting for a hearing before imposing restrictions on them would be "prejudicial to the public interest."

The executive director of the B.C. Securities Commission issued the temporary order on Monday, and it was posted online Wednesday. 

The order applies to Baynsworth and Lloyd Holdings Inc. and James Michael Burnett, who "may be making representations prohibited by B.C.'s Securities Act and violating the registration and prospectus requirements of the Act," the BCSC said in a news release.

"BCSC staff have repeatedly asked Baynsworth and Burnett to stop this activity."

The order does not elaborate on the content of the representations Burnett and the company have allegedly made, but it does indicate that BCSC staff issued a warning to them as long ago as 2022.

Under the temporary order, Baynsworth and Burnett are prohibited from engaging in promotional activities on behalf of the company "or another person that is reasonably expected to profit from the promotional activity," according to the BCSC.

They are also prohibited from disseminating or authorizing the dissemination of "any information or record relating to any securities or investment advisory services offered" by the company.

The temporary order bans all trading of Baynsworth securities, and is scheduled to remain in effect until Dec. 10, at which point the executive director may apply to a panel of the BCSC to extend it.

"The temporary order was made based on the executive director’s determination that the length of time needed to hold a hearing into this conduct could be prejudicial to the public interest," the commission's release reads.