WASHINGTON – The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a decision last week against a Vancouver broadcast executive over a public company he was involved in between 1999 and 2002.
A U.S. federal court in Nevada entered a final judgment – by consent – against Barry Duggan, an accountant by trade, of Vancouver, British Columbia, in connection with a stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over an adult web site company that occurred between 1999 and 2002, says the press release.
Duggan is currently president of Focus Entertainment, which owns Vancouver radio station 94.5 FM The Beat.
"The judgment permanently enjoins Duggan from violating the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the federal securities laws. The judgment also orders Duggan to pay a US$25,000 civil penalty, prohibits him from acting as an officer or director of a publicly-traded company and bars him from participating in any offering of a penny stock," says the press release.
The judgment is from an April 21, 2005, civil action filed by the Commission against Exotics.com, Inc. (Exotics), a Nevada corporation based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and 12 other principal defendants.
"The Commission alleged in its complaint that, between at least 1999 and 2002, Exotics, which was then an Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board company in the business of operating adult web sites, was the subject of a manipulation and accounting fraud perpetrated by, among others, its officers, attorneys and outside auditors. The Commission alleged that Duggan, who during the relevant period was a certified general accountant (CGA) in Canada and the chief executive officer and a director of Exotics’ sole subsidiary, played a role in the scheme by, among other things, approving Exotics’ false reporting of $3.6 million of goodwill in its financial statements (which led to an overstatement of assets by approximately 627%) and reviewing and approving drafts of fax and e- mail spam messages sent out on behalf of the company which contained misleading financial information," reads the press release.
"Without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission’s complaint, Duggan consented to the entry of the final judgment against him."
