Ivan Radic / CC
The Nova Scotia Securities Commission say at least one Nova Scotian fell victim to a fraudulent crypto trade.
Stearn House claims to be a full-featured online trading platform for major investments, including contracts for differences in various cryptocurrencies. It claims to be located at 250 Yonge St., Toronto.
They say Stearn House Trading and representatives operating under the names Michael Schwartz, Evan Donovan and Tom Bennett are not registered to trade in securities or derivatives in Nova Scotia.
Whether the entire Stearn House platform is illegitimate or if it was just a few individuals are still not known according to Securities Commission Communications Officer David Harrison. “While we don’t know how extensive the issues is there are some causes for concern; notably there is no evidence of the company at their registered address and they also have lots of negative reviews online,” Harrison said.
At least one Nova Scotian investor lost money after opening an account with Stearn House. This investor believed they were investing in crypto assets. Requests to return funds and make withdrawals from their account have been ignored by Stearn House.
Stephanie Atkinson, Director of Enforcement, Nova Scotia Securities Commission says as the crypto investment sector grows people need to be cautious. “Always take time to verify registration and perform online searches for entities and any affiliated representatives prior to investing. While the internet can be a dangerous place to shop for investments, it can also be a vital asset to determine the legitimacy of an operation. Reviews, alerts, warnings, complaints and other useful information can be found online and may save you from irreversible financial loss. Remember, the basis of any scam is telling people what they want to hear. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.”
At the time of the publication of this article, Stearn House Trading’s website is still live and they have not returned our calls for comments on this story.
