Heritage Bank

Complaint alleging "a sophisticated, multiyear, multi-national attack on the United States financial markets and retail United States investors by foreign and domestic actors" in which the defendants "schemed to sell fraudulently hundreds of millions of dollars in stocks in the United States markets" in U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission v. Frederick L. Sharp, described as a citizen of the United States residing in Vancouver, Canada; Zhiying Yvonne Gasarch, a.k.a. Zhiying Chen, described as a dual citizen of Canada and China; Courtney Kelln, Mike K. Veldhuis, described as a citizen of the Netherlands; Paul Sexton, described as a citizen of the United Kingdom; Jackson T. Friesen, Graham R. Taylor, described as a citizen of the United Kingdom, all residents of British Columbia, Canada; William T. Kaitz, of Maryland, and Avtar S. Dhillon, described as a citizen of Canada residing in Long Beach, California, at the U. S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

Chapter 15 Petition for Recognition of a Foreign Main Proceeding in Canada by Mathieu Roy, of Houle Roy SA, as the Foreign Representative of Paul Harris Benjamin, at the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence from Puget Bank, now known as Heritage Bank; PW Arms, Inc., and Hazem Rayful - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from Bulgaria - for a criminal investigation into "unknown target(s)" for suspected money laundering.

Application for the appointment of a Commissioner to collect evidence - pursuant to a request for judicial assistance from the Czech Republic - for a criminal investigation into Michal Skarda for suspected computer fraud.

Regulators have applied to the High Court of Antigua to remove Edward St. Clair Smith as Receiver of American International Bank and change the bank's status from receivership to liquidation. St. Clair-Smith is opposing the action on the grounds that the bank can still be sold as a going concern and that there is a reputable Caribbean company interested in buying it, said a source.