U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Litigation Release No. 24010 / December 13, 2017
Securities and Exchange Commission v. Corey J. Sandberg and Affinity Gold Corporation, No. 17-mc-00062 (D. Minn. filed Dec. 11, 2017)
SEC Seeks Court Enforcement of Agency Subpoenas in Investigation of Mining Company
The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking court enforcement of the agency’s administrative subpoenas in an ongoing investigation of a Minnesota-based mining company and its CEO.
According to the SEC’s application and supporting papers, filed on December 11, 2017 in federal court in Minnesota, the SEC issued multiple subpoenas to Affinity Gold Corp. and its CEO, Corey J. Sandberg, seeking, among other things, communications with potential investors, and documents relevant to the company’s mining projects in Peru and Colombia. Although, as the application states, Sandberg made an initial incomplete production of twenty business-related e-mails in PDF form, despite numerous extensions, neither Sandberg nor Affinity Gold produced all documents responsive to the subpoenas, which Sandberg admitted in sworn testimony before agency staff. The application further states that, after Sandberg’s sworn testimony, agency staff reminded Sandberg to produce the requested documents and provided step-by-step instructions on how to properly export and produce relevant email files and metadata. Despite these and other repeated communications, the application states that Sandberg failed to provide any additional documents beyond the initial production.
The SEC is seeking a court order requiring Sandberg and Affinity Gold to comply with the agency’s subpoenas. The SEC’s investigation in this matter is continuing and, to date, the agency has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2017/lr24010.htm