Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge Robert F. Goldstein sentenced Stephan Katmarian to six months in jail followed by 18 months of probation after he sold investors notes in a never-launched digital asset called Peblik Token, which he falsely said was backed by ownership in a Northern Ontario mine. Katmarian is appealing his conviction. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Ontario Securities Commission charged Katmarian with four offences in 2021. He was ultimately acquitted of all but one—fraud. Canadian crypto fraudsters have received some high–profile criminal convictions, but a jail sentence for securities fraud related to crypto marketing is more rare. According to the sentencing decision, Goldstein needed to raise US$13.9 million to acquire a controlling interest in the Thierry Mine and used Peblik Token as a “shortcut” to attract investment. Peblik raised over $400,000 from 32 investors in 2018 and 2019, telling them the token was “asset-backed,” when in fact the company Goldstein was trying to buy the mine from never agreed to the crypto token arrangement.  

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