Questionable dealings on Vida’s board of directors
The network between Vida Cannabis, Biologix Hair and High Alert
After announcing its intention to purchase the Clairtone building and set up a medicinal marijuana production plant, Vida Cannabis has been busy assembling its team of financial professionals and advisers.
Most of those appointed to Vida’s board of directors also work with High Alert Capital Investments, which is providing a $1 million line of credit, or Biologix Hair, a biotech company also funded by High Alert.
Some of the appointees and management at Vida Cannabis have had questionable financial practices.
J. ( James) Gregory Wilson, chief executive officer of Vida Cannabis, who is living in Ontario, is also Chief Financial Officer of Biologix Hair, a biotech company that sells patent-pending hair loss prevention and regeneration treatment, and which is also a client of High Alert Capital Investments.
In 1998, a James Gregory Wilson was disciplined by the Investment Dealers Association of Canada. According to the IDA, Wilson effected the purchase of 6,500 shares in the account of a client without the prior knowledge or authorization of the client and without the account being designated as a discretionary account. He received a $5,000 fine, was required to re-write CPH exam and required to pay $1,000 towards the costs of the investigation.
While Wilson confirmed membership in the IDA, he said that they never disciplined him and that it must have been someone else with the same name. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), the successor organization to the IDA, found only one James Gregory Wilson with membership in the organization in Ontario.
Dan Hunter, director of corporate finance for High Alert, was recently named to Vida Cannabis’s board of directors. He is also the chief operating officer for Biologix Hair.
Hunter and his brother David were parties of interest in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe of the 1991-1993 promotion of Dimples Group, a Toronto-based diaper company. In 1995, Brent Mudry of Stockwatch also reported an alleged fraud and stock manipulation scheme involving Ultra Pure Water Systems, of which the Hunter brothers played an introductory role leading to Ultra Pure's formation. Mudry reported that a total of seven brokerage firms were left with $2.36 million in unpaid debits when the stock was halted in the middle of its promotion last spring, according to a detailed Alberta Stock Exchange investigation.
David Hoang, chief trading officer for High Alert Capital Investments, was fined $25,000 by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) after failing to attend an interview to answer questions regarding an IIROC investigation into his actions.
On Feb. 24, Vida announced that Dr. Michael Stocker, CEO of Biologix Hair, would be joining the board of directors and on March 3 a press release announced that Biologix Chairman Ron Holland was also appointed to the Vida Cannabis board of directors.
While Anthony Wile, Chief Investment Officer of High Alert, said the Biologix Hair is doing well and continuing to advance not all are so confident. Firethorn Research, LLC, a due diligence-based equity research firm, suggested in June 2013 that Biologix Hair was a fraud.
At that time, Biologix had a $261 million market cap and was trading at $3.35 but after the article was posted, Biologix Hair chose to delist from the Over-theCounter (OTC) Market and voluntarily suspended SEC reporting. According to Firethorn, Biologix has since fallen 95 per cent and has now has a $10 million market cap.