A panel of the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) has dismissed allegations that a B.C. man and his company committed market manipulation.

The panel found there was insufficient evidence to prove that Forum National Investments Ltd. or its chief executive officer, Daniel Clozza, committed misconduct in 2012 as alleged by the BCSC in an Amended Notice of Hearing.

The notice alleged that Clozza hired a stock promoter to assist him in conducting a market manipulation of Forum shares and directed the company to issue false or misleading press releases.

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Forum was incorporated in B.C. and its shares traded on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board market in the U.S. Clozza was also a director, shareholder and the president of Forum.

In dismissing the market manipulation allegations, the panel wrote that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that Forum or Clozza engaged in conduct that they 鈥渒new, or reasonably should have known, resulted in or contributed to a misleading appearance of trading activity in, or an artificial price for, Forum shares.鈥�

Due to lack of evidence, the panel also dismissed allegations that Clozza made false or misleading statements to the BCSC in a sworn affidavit.

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