SEC defendant Dalmy, facing jail, blames "scoundrel"

by Mike Caswell

Vancouver-linked securities lawyer Diane Dalmy has asked a judge to spare her jail for her part in a series of pump-and-dumps. As she tells it, a con artist named Billy Lieberman influenced her into participating in the fraud. She also claims that she made a paltry $30,000 from the scheme. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

The request from Ms. Dalmy comes after she pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge on Feb. 6, 2018. She admitted that she wrote fraudulent legal opinion letters that allowed others to receive tradable shares in several companies. Her participation allowed those behind the fraud to make $5.6-million, according to the government.

The guilty plea came on top of a prior case that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursued against Ms. Dalmy. On Sept. 18, 2015, she received a $680,000 fine from the SEC for a shell factory scheme that involved former Vancouver lawyer John Briner. The SEC said that she wrote opinion letters in support of an effort by Mr. Briner at listing 20 purported mining companies. Mr. Briner had attempted to create the companies as shells by using sham property deals and nominee officers. The SEC stopped the scheme in its early stages, and filed an administrative action against Mr. Briner and Ms. Dalmy.

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