News Release

Released: 03/05/01 Contact: Dean Pelkey
NR 01-06 (604) 899-6880 or
(BC only) 1-800-373-6393 Vancouver -- A Victoria man who sold more than $316,000 worth of shares in an alleged fertilizer company without being registered has agreed to a five-year ban from the market and a $20,000 penalty.

In a settlement reached with the British Columbia Securities Commission, John Arthur Roche McLoughlin agreed to a ban on acting as an officer or director of any issuing company or engaging in investor relations activities.

However, the clock doesn't start ticking on McLoughlin's five-year ban until he offers the investors who purchased the shares a full disclosure statement equivalent to an offering memorandum and a chance to return their investment and get their money back. Otherwise, the market ban remains in place indefinitely.

Between April 1997 and December 1998, McLoughlin was president and director of Grandby Development Corporation, a Victoria-based company that allegedly produced organic fertilizer. During this time, he sold more than 4.4 million common shares worth $316,496 to 115 investors without being registered to trade in securities and without offering investors a prospectus or applying for an exemption.

The majority of investors also lived in the Victoria area.

Anyone selling securities in B.C. must be registered with the BCSC. Investors can check the registration database on the BCSC web site at www.bcsc.bc.ca or by calling the commission at 1-800-373-6393 to see if an individual is registered.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities and exchange contracts within BC. Copies of the settlement can be viewed in the documents database of the commission’s website www.bcsc.bc.ca or by contacting Media Relations Officer Dean Pelkey at 899-6880.