Man, 85, Accused Of Selling Unregistered Securities In ‘Shipwreck’ Venture; Recidivist Huckster Hawked Sunken-Treasure Offer While Banned Because Of Previous Misconduct, BCSC Says

Ten years ago, when John Arthur Roche McLoughlin was about 75 years old, the British Columbia Securities Commission accused him of selling unregistered securities in a venture known as Grandby Development Corp., a purported fertilizer company.

BCSC imposed a five-year ban that prohibited McLoughlin from acting as a director or officer of any issuer. Because McLoughlin did not meet the requirements to lift the ban, including paying a $25,000 assessment, the ban remained in effect, according to records.

Now, at 85, McLoughlin has been accused of selling unregistered securities in a purported Irish venture in which investors were told they’d receive a share of treasure recovered from shipwrecks. The scheme, according to records, raised about $312,00 for the company, known as Blue Lighthouse Ltd.

McLoughlin initially protested the $20,000 penalty BCSC sought to impose for his conduct in the treasure-salvaging venture, which he sold as an agent for Blue Lighthouse through a British Columbia firm known as MCL Ventures Inc., according to records.

BCSC then increased the penalty by $30,000 and banned McLoughlin for 15 years. He next could seek to sell securities when he was approximately 100 years old, according to the ruling.

“As McLoughlin engaged in the same misconduct for which he had previously been sanctioned and continued to breach the orders against him in spite of repeated warnings from BCSC staff, the panel increased the $20,000 fine sought by the commission to $50,000,” the agency said.

BCSC also “cease-traded MCL Ventures Inc.,” the agency said.