Sulja trading halt sought in Alta.
New rating system for 'pink sheet stocks' places skull and crossbones symbol on Harrow lumberyard
Gary Rennie
Windsor Star
Friday, August 10, 2007
canada.com
The Harrow lumberyard facing numerous securities charges in Ontario has been hit with similar allegations in Alberta, where a hearing has been scheduled for next Wednesday in Calgary.
Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) staff are seeking a temporary trading halt in that province for the stock of Sulja Brothers Building Supplies Ltd. while the investigation continues there.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) imposed a trading halt last December, which has been extended three times. Next hearing date in Ontario is Sept. 7.
Allegations of manipulating stock prices, issuing false and misleading press releases, and selling stock without issuing a prospectus were made by the OSC against Nevada-incorporated company with the Sulja name and its former CEO Petar Vucicevich. Also charged were: the Harrow-based Sulja Bros., which is incorporated in Ontario; another company of Vucicevich's called Kore International Management; and a San Antonio, Texas resident, Andrew DeVries.
The ASC allegations mirror those in Ontario -- naming the same companies and individuals. According to the notice of the Alberta hearing: "ASC staff believe the parties pose a risk of future misconduct that could affect Alberta investors and its capital market."
"We work with the other jurisdictions," said Tamera Van Brunt, a spokesperson for the ASC in Calgary, in an interview Thursday. She said the ASC action follows the announcement by Sulja over a month ago of the opening of a Calgary office, and the closing of the Harrow location.
"Our main concern is to protect Alberta investors," Van Brunt said.
Toronto lawyers who have represented Sulja and Vucicevich in previous Ontario hearings couldn't be reached Thursday.
Jan Baja, a Florida legal secretary who lost about US$10,000 on Sulja stock after its price collapsed last November, is hoping for rulings soon on the allegations.
"I want to know the truth," said Baja, 60. She first bought the stock in July 2006, in hopes of adding to her retirement savings. She said she knew little about "pink sheet stocks" and "got caught up in the hype" on Internet stock forums like Investors Hub.
Sulja stock trades on an electronic over-the-counter quotation system in the U.S. called the "pink sheets." It's been trading at a little less than a cent a share recently, although it peaked as high as 21 cents a year last year.
Baja applauded the recent release of a rating system for thousands of pink sheet stocks that attempts to give investors some idea of the risks involved. The Sulja stock was put into the highest risk category, which comes with a skull and crossbones symbol.
The press releases touting Middle East cement contracts in the hundreds of millions of dollars, hotel deals and rubber plant deals sounded believable at the time, especially when so many other investors were convinced, Baja said.
After the OSC charges, the company issued a press release Jan. 10 cautioning investors not to rely upon any of its previous press releases or other public statements.
© The Windsor Star 2007
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