Live Ship Ltd., an investment vehicle led by Jim Gillis, has been fined for distributing marketing materials without properly informing regulators and for failing to have ever sent financial statements to investors of the Sydney-area company.
Under a settlement reached earlier this year with the Nova Scotia Securities Commission, Live Ship will pay a $5,000 fine and another $500 to cover investigative costs.
The securities commission started investigating Live Ship after a complaint was filed in December 2022, according to the settlement. The probe found that Live Ship, which is registered as a community economic development corporation (CEDC), promoted share offerings on its website but "did not file copies of the promotional materials with the executive director of the commission after their use." The company also erred in making "representations regarding annual dividends for shareholders" and keeping the promotional materials "available and accessible to the public after the latest permitted closing date of the offering."
Live Ship informed investigators on Oct. 17, 2023, that it had never delivered financial statements to security holders, according to the settlement, and admitted breaching securities laws, the settlement said. Live Ship, which has raised $985,532 from 103 investors, fully cooperated with the probe and corrected disclosure is being sent to shareholders, the settlement said. The company's conduct was not deliberate, and there was no evidence that any investors were harmed by the violations, the settlement said.
A CEDC is a provincial corporation that offers tax credits to investors who agree to tie up their money for at least five years. CEDCs must have less than $25 million in revenue and assets, and pay a significant portion of wages and salaries within the province. In addition to providing tax credits, CEDCs generally qualify for inclusion in tax-deferred Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs).
In August 2016, Live Ship Received a $500,000 loan from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to "develop a system to ship live seafood." In February 2017, the company received a $50,000 grant to hire a chief operating officer. Jim Gillis is listed as Live Ship's president, secretary and treasurer in Nova Scotia's corporate registry.
(Editor's note: the article is a corrected version of the original, which had confused registering an offering document with registering a corporation.)
-HBB
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