On May 16, 2014, Christopher received $10,500 in dividends from Claudio's corporation. On May 20, 2014, Christopher promptly repaid the $5,000 advanced from the joint line of credit and on May 21, 2014, he purchased $5,386 worth of Amaya shares with the remaining funds. The logical inference is that he was not certain of the success of his trade and was not planning to sell Amaya in the near future, which is inconsistent with the actions of a person who knew that Amaya's stock was about to double in price on the news of a major acquisition. This inference is further supported by the fact that Christopher did not sell his Amaya shares until September 9, 2014. The fact that Christopher held Amaya stock for three months after the announcement supports his explanation that he bought it because he liked what the company was doing and their future prospects rather than on any knowledge of a major acquisition.
When I consider the evidence that is before me, I draw an inference that it is equally as likely that Vannatta relied on his own research and may have learned information about Amaya from other sources and did not rely on information from Kitmitto prior to his purchase of Amaya. Further, I note that two of the settlement agreements and an excerpt from the third settlement agreement were submitted to the Panel by Staff in their Book of Authorities accompanying the closing submissions and Staff cites the settlement agreements in their written closing submissions. This was after the Panel told the parties at the hearing that we recognize a settlement is a negotiated document, not based on evidence, and that when we make our decision in this matter, it will be based on the evidence in this matter. While the settlement agreements are not in evidence, by including them in their Book of Authorities and submissions there is the concern that Staff is providing the settlements to show guilt by association. I note that since the individuals who settled were not called as witnesses, none of the respondents had any opportunity to cross-examine them and the settlement agreements are not helpful in the circumstances and I do not rely on the settlement agreements.
Paulson Classic Top Hat & Cane $100 Casino Poker Chips - **VERY RARE**
Fakhry first became interested in Amaya for himself around the same time as the April 24, 2014 Globe and Mail article, which provided a positive outlook on Amaya. Fakhry received an email from CG on June 5, 2014 with a link to an article regarding Amaya renewing a licensing agreement. Fakhry sent an email to CG and NG on May 27, 2014, with a Cantech letter entitled "Amaya Gaming roars to all-time highs on acquisition rumours". June 8, 2014 online article from OnlineCasino.org discussing Amaya's recent performance and a future announcement that could include PokerStars.
Staff submits that the admissibility of evidence, including electronic records, in Commission proceedings is governed by s. 15 of the SPPA, which is designed to avoid the technical rules of evidence that would apply in a court proceeding. 15 of the SPPA, which grants broad discretionary power to the Commission to admit relevant documentary evidence, "overrides the provisions of any Act expressly limiting the extent to or purposes for which any ... documents or things may be admitted or used in evidence in any proceeding." Goss submits that the OEA is such an Act. 34.1 of the OEA is a mandatory prerequisite to the admission of electronic records and governs admissibility of these records in a Commission proceeding. Goss submits that Staff has failed to meet those requirements as Staff did not file any evidence from the creators of the Contested Records or anyone else who had custody of them before they were provided to Staff, despite the opportunity to do so. Therefore, Goss submits that the Contested Records are inadmissible.
Staff also relied on the frequency of calls between Kitmitto, Goss and Fielding, assuming that the subject of the calls must have been related to Amaya MNPI. First of all, while I accept that Kitmitto, Goss and Fielding were in regular contact, I note that Staff did not obtain all of their relevant phone records. During the investigation, Staff's Senior Investigator, George, collected only a partial sample of the cell phone records and as a result only the partial sample was in evidence. In my view, this highlights the incompleteness of the mosaic of circumstantial evidence before me.
[BRAND NEW] Hard Rock - Guitar Case Poker Set - 200 Chips/2 Decks + Dice
CG's comments about "joining the party", Fakhry "getting rich" and spending profits on a trip and a ring, are as consistent with youthful exuberance about a potentially successful investment Fakhry had recommended as with having knowledge of the MNPI. Fielding submits that we should consider as comparators of profitability Fielding's investment in his personal business (200% between 2013 and 2015), his interest in a racehorse (11,000% in 2023), his student housing project (233% in 2016) and Ethoca (900% in 2023). We do not accept these as relevant comparators as each of them is distinctly different from profits earned trading in shares of a public company.
When a stock is doing well and its price is rising like seawater with the tide coming in, such as Amaya stock was in this case where the electronic and online gaming market "water" was rising, then all boats rise. Further, when a sector is doing well, it is not uncommon for investors to jump in and take advantage of an investing opportunity in a sector that is on the rise. Profit alone is not a determinative factor, and when considered in the context of other factors caution should be taken not to over-emphasize this factor. When considered with other factors, its importance will vary depending on the circumstances. For example, highly profitable trades will not be out of the ordinary for successful investors . Where there is no direct evidence and only circumstantial evidence, a cautious approach needs to be taken to ensure that factors such as profitability are not given excessive weight when other pieces of the mosaic of circumstantial evidence , and the testimony of multiple credible respondents, provide more context to piece together a more fulsome story.
HiTex Gear Millennium Falcon Poker Chip Holder by ESC East Street Carry IN HAND
FH's investment in Amaya was his second largest investment in shares of any company during the two years from January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2014. We recognize that Fakhry's trading was not uncharacteristic. He had used credit to finance previous trades and he had purchased gaming industry stocks in the past, albeit in a different sector of that industry, land-based casinos.
Staff submits that theMallorydecision, relied on by the Candussos and Vannatta, is rooted in the right to remain silent, whereas under theStatutory Powers Procedure Act a respondent has no such right. Our ruling on the Compelled Evidence Motion provided that, should a respondent choose not to testify, Staff may tender portions of that respondent's compelled evidence as part of Staff's case in-chief before the close of Staff's case. We ruled that Staff's proposal to put Fakhry's compelled evidence to Kitmitto was inconsistent with our earlier ruling that the compelled evidence of a respondent could only be used to cross-examine that same respondent. To conclude, consistent with the Commission's decision inAgueci CT,our decision to strike references to the compelled evidence from the George Affidavit was without prejudice to Staff's ability to use the compelled evidence of a respondent to cross-examine that same respondent and to tender portions of the compelled evidence of a respondent that chooses not to testify. Staff states that the compelled evidence included in the George Affidavit is "relevant background information" and introducing it at the beginning will lead to an orderly and efficient presentation of Staff's case. While it may be convenient for Staff to introduce background information through references to the compelled evidence in the George Affidavit it is not necessary.
Since I have found that Fakhry never received the alleged Amaya MNPI from Goss and was not in a special relationship, it is therefore impossible for Fakhry to have tipped or recommended Amaya to anyone else. However, since the majority of the Panel did make findings about Fakhry tipping and recommending, I will address this as well. Therefore, I find that Fakhry did not engage in insider trading.
Accordingly, this did not yet meet the threshold for materiality. We accept Fakhry's evidence about MG always acting on Fakhry's recommendations and therefore find that it is more likely than not that Fakhry recommended the May 20 trade to MG, and that the May 27 and June 4 trades were also recommended by Fakhry. Fakhry's evidence about his uncle and client, MG, was that he always accepted Fakhry's recommendations, without question. Fakhry's evidence was that he did not recommend Amaya to MG until after Amaya's May 16 analyst call. The first trade was unmarked but the remaining two were marked as "solicited".
As far back as 2010, Fielding invested in Intertain, World Gaming, and Cryptologic. Fielding bought and held shares in Cryptologic in 2010 and 2011. Fielding also invested in Gaming Nation on Goss's recommendation.
Fakhry also makes references in their exchanges to waiting for the "big pop" and that, when Amaya's price dropped 1% immediately after his purchase, CG should leave his investment in Amaya alone and not bother Fakhry about any drop. Fakhry had a close, personal relationship with CG and saw himself as a mentor to his younger cousin. Their communications suggest a shared interest in technical analysis. NG bought shares of Amaya on May 6 , 7 , 14 , 26 , 28 and 29 . CB bought a total of 7,800 Amaya shares during the Relevant Period and sold his shares on June 13 , earning a significant profit. We find that Staff has established it was more likely than not that Goss recommended Amaya to 15 of his clients while he had MNPI about Amaya.
On December 16, 2013, an article by Cantech listed Amaya as a finalist for the TSX tech stock of the year and noted that Amaya was a key force in the legalization of online gambling in the United States. Staff also submit that as a registrant, a higher degree of vigilance was expected of Vannatta. With respect to the handwriting on the Scotia transaction histories differing from other samples of Vannatta's handwriting, the October 20 preparation session notes indicate that Staff told Rnjak that Staff noticed the handwriting appeared to be different. There is no evidence this topic was part of Rnjak's September 20 preparation session or that Rnjak was aware of the different handwriting previously. The issue of the apparently different handwriting was, however, a part of Vannatta's cross-examination of George prior to the October 20 preparation session.
While we do not find Goss's trading in Amaya shares during the Relevant Period uncharacteristic, we find it was opportunistic and therefore consistent with his having been tipped about the Amaya MNPI. We find a marked difference between Goss's trading, for himself, his family and his clients, before and after April 29. On the afternoon of April 29, after Kitmitto's meeting with Amaya management, Goss began acquiring Amaya in his personal accounts and in family accounts over which he had trading authority.
As a former competitive swimmer, he won two silver medals in the Olympics, one in 1984 and one in 1988. Staff asked the Panel to infer guilt from the existence of a collegial workplace, collaboration in business dealings, trust among friends, thoughtful trading, and success. On May 9, 2014, Christopher saw a Stockhouse post that referred to commentary by an investment analyst who recommended Amaya and predicted that it was "looking at big, big profits later on". On December 16, 2013, Christopher saw a Cantech article which listed Amaya as a finalist for the TSX tech stock of the year and noted that Amaya was a key force in the legalization of online gambling in the United States. As stated above, Staff did not prove on a balance of probabilities that it is more likely than not that Kitmitto tipped Christopher with the alleged Amaya MNPI. It is equally likely that Christopher did his own investment research and came across public information about Amaya absent any sharing of information from Kitmitto.