Tausi Insider

A lawyer representing Ontario’s securities regulator says three former executives whose cannabis company was caught growing pot in unlicensed rooms were in positions to disclose the improper growing but didn’t. Dihim Emami, a lawyer for the Ontario Securities Commission, said in a Toronto court today that by not disclosing the unlicensed growing at CannTrust Holdings Inc., Peter Aceto, Eric Paul and Mark Litwin caused “incredible” damage to investors. The three men have pleaded not guilty to a series of securities offences linked to the unlicensed growing at a Niagara, Ont. region facility, including fraud and authorizing, permitting or acquiescing in the commission of an offence. Litwin and Paul are also facing insider trading charges, and Litwin and Aceto are charged with making a false prospectus and false preliminary prospectus. The charges were first laid by the OSC in June 2021, around the same time executives told shareholders the Vaughan, Ont. company was compliant with regul...

Former CannTrust CEO Peter Aceto, centre, leaves Old City Hall with his lawyer, Frank Addario, left, in Toronto, on Dec. 14, 2022. Eduardo Lima/Tausi Insider The prosecution of three former high-ranking officials of CannTrust Holdings Inc. has collapsed after a key government witness conceded that the fundamental allegation against the trio – that they permitted unlicensed growing at their company’s cannabis facility – is incorrect. In court on Wednesday, a lawyer for the Ontario Securities Commission announced that the regulator was withdrawing its case against former CannTrust chief executive officer Peter Aceto, former chairman Eric Paul and Mark Litwin, a former director. The lawyer, Dihim Emami, said the OSC had reassessed the case and was now “of the view there’s no reasonable prospect of conviction.” Lawyers for the three men opposed the commission’s move, asking Justice Victor Giourgas, instead, for a verdict and a complete acquittal. But Mr. Emami asked the court for a one-d...

Former CannTrust CEO Peter Aceto, center, leaves Old City Hall with his lawyer, Frank Addario, left, Toronto, on Dec. 14. Eduardo Lima/Tausi Insider An Ontario judge ruled Thursday that three former high-ranking officials from CannTrust Holdings Inc. CNTTQ were not guilty of any charges brought against them by Ontario’s securities regulator, bringing an abrupt and final close to a trial that ended almost as soon as it began. The quasi-criminal trial of former CannTrust chief executive officer Peter Aceto, former chairman Eric Paul and former director Mark Litwin was scheduled to take place over 50 days, but instead only required eight days of evidence before lawyers for the three men asked Justice Victor Giourgas to issue a verdict. “Acquittals shall be entered for all of the defendants,” Justice Giourgas said Wednesday, officially ending the failed enforcement case brought by the Ontario Securities Commission. When the trial ended shortly before noon, family members and supporters o...

Elon Musk took the witness stand Friday to defend a 2018 tweet claiming he had lined up the financing to take Tesla private in a deal that never came close to happening. The tweet resulted in a $40-million settlement with securities regulators. It also led to a class-action lawsuit alleging he misled investors, pulling him into court for about a half hour Friday to deliver sworn testimony in front of a nine-person jury and a full room of media and other spectators. The trial was then adjourned for the weekend and Musk was told to return Monday to answer more questions. In his initial appearance on the stand, Musk defended his prolific tweeting as “the most democratic way” to distribute information even while acknowledging constraints of Twitter’s 280-character limit can make it difficult to make everything as clear as possible. “I think you can absolutely be truthful [on Twitter],” Musk asserted on the stand. “But can you be comprehensive? Of course not,” Musk’s latest headache stems...

A car with three occupants recently drove into a barricade outside the California home owned by Sam Bankman-Fried’s parents, an apparent attempt to gain access to the property where the founder of crypto exchange FTX is under house arrest. Lawyers for Bankman-Fried made the disclosure in a letter dated Thursday to U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan who is presiding over the criminal case against Bankman-Fried. He faces charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits on his cryptocurrency trading platform, using some of the funds to make large campaign donations to U.S. politicians. Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty last month and was released on $250 million bond, on the condition he await trial at this parents’ home in Palo Alto, California. The lawyers were responding to a motion by several media outlets to unseal the names of two individuals besides Bankman-Fried’s parents who agreed to sign the recognizance bond. The lawyers, Mark Cohen and Chris Everdell, i...

Former CannTrust CEO Peter Aceto, center, leaves Old City Hall with his lawyer, Frank Addario, left, Toronto, on Dec. 14. Eduardo Lima/Tausi Insider An Ontario judge ruled Thursday that three former high-ranking officials from CannTrust Holdings Inc. CNTTQ were not guilty of any charges brought against them by Ontario’s securities regulator, bringing an abrupt and final close to a trial that ended almost as soon as it began. The quasi-criminal trial of former CannTrust chief executive officer Peter Aceto, former chairman Eric Paul and former director Mark Litwin was scheduled to take place over 50 days, but instead only required eight days of evidence before lawyers for the three men asked Justice Victor Giourgas to issue a verdict. “Acquittals shall be entered for all of the defendants,” Justice Giourgas said Wednesday, officially ending the failed enforcement case brought by the Ontario Securities Commission. When the trial ended shortly before noon, family members and supporters o...