Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon – Vancouver Doctor faces a billion dollar fraud case

A former BC doctor faces charges in the US for alleged involvement in a multi-billion dollar stock fraud program. Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon was arrested after a four-year investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. He has been charged with securities fraud, conspiracy and obstruction. On November 30, 2021, he will answer these allegations in US courts. Here is a rundown of the details of the case and Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon.

Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon – Who is this guy?

Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon received his license to practice medicine from UBC and had a family practice in Surrey. In fact, you can still find its reviews on sites like BCdoctordirectory. In addition to being a respected doctor, he was a past chairman of the Cannabis Canada Council and a past member of the BC Securities Commission’s Advisory Committee on Securities Practices. This guy was a big deal and had solid references to back him up.

Image courtesy Megan Devlin / Richmond News

Despite his success and established career, he left his practice for the corporate world and focused on companies in the health sciences field. Given his background, this was a natural fit. Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon became a major player in the cannabis and medical corporate world. In the past 25 years, he says he has raised over $ 1 billion from investors, ran a number of public companies, and currently serves two directors.

The arrest

On August 3, 2021, Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon arrested at his Long Beach, California home (an over $ 12 million waterfront property). After he posted $ 1.5 million bail, he was released conditionally. In addition to agreeing not to travel, he was required to surrender his passport and wear an ankle cuff for GPS monitoring.

The other alleged main actors

The allegations against Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon can be summed up as insider trading. As you can imagine, this type of crime typically involves more than one person and this case is no exception. His alleged co-conspirators include:

• Fred Sharp from West Vancouver
• Paul Küster from Anmore
• Jackson Friesian from Delta
• Graham Taylor from Vancouver
• Zhiying Yvonne (Chen) Gasarch from Richmond
• Mike Veldhuis from Vancouver
• Courtney Keller from Surrey.

The above persons are officially charged, but several other persons are under investigation. To date, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has frozen multiple bank accounts in both the US and Canada. Many accounts have all been scrutinized, particularly those of people close to the defendants.

Why is Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon so hot?

Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon is charged with knowingly participating in a pump and dump program involving three different companies. The evidence against him doesn’t look good. In fact, he is the first to face criminal charges related to the case. Most of those involved face civil charges, not criminal charges. The allegations against him include:

• Disguise ownership of Arch Therapeutics and OncoSec Medical Inc. stocks with an attorney. From March 2011 to April 2020 he was CEO of both companies.
• Hide large penny stocks in proportions less than 5%. This was done to circumvent disclosure requirements and compliance protocols.
• Misrepresentation of millions of economically owned stocks by placing them in two shell companies.
• Using misinformation to get cheap legal advice. This advice was then used to convince brokers to deposit stocks with no trading restrictions.

Emerald Health Therapeutics

The four-year investigation against Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon focused on his stakes in American companies. Now many are wondering about the Canadian companies he is affiliated with. Emerald Health Therapeutics is a cannabis company based in Vancouver; Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon is one of the founders. Two days after his arrest, he resigned from all positions within the company.

In relation to the indictment and resignation, Emerald Health Therapeutics issued the following statement: “The Company is not aware of any illicit trading in Emerald securities and has no allegations against any other Emerald affiliate, including its officers or other directors. The company and its legal counsel are currently evaluating whether they can take further action in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. “

Dr. Avtar Singh Dhillon faces up to 25 years in prison for any stock crime charge and up to 20 years in prison for obstruction of a trial.

Footnote (s)

https://emeraldhealth.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/EHT-NR-210811-Emerald-Health-Therapeutics-Comments-on-Board-Resignation.pdf
https://biv.com/article/2021/08/vancouver-central-sophisticated-global-pump-and-dump-scheme-fbi?utm_source=north%20shore%20news&utm_campaign=north%20shore%20news%3A%20outbound&utm_medium= Referral
https://biv.com/article/2021/08/vancouver-pot-promoter-charged-sec-securities-fraud-probe
https://www.alaskahighwaynews.ca/bc-news/us-arrest-warrant-out-for-ex-vancouver-lawyer-on-pump-and-dump-charges-4265894?utm_source=north%20shore%20news&utm_campaign= north% 20shore% 20news% 3A% 20outbound & utm_medium = referral
https://www.nsnews.com/bc-news/time-ticking-for-vancouver-man-charged-in-1b-international-stock-fraud-scheme-4767826