OSC v. Harald Seemann, Jens Brandt and Karl Pawlowicz (spoofing, 2018)

Status unknown

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 2, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

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In 2018, the Ontario Securities Commission brought an action against Harald Seemann, Jens Brandt and Karl Pawlowicz. The statement of allegations says Seemann, a Big Rock Labs founder and director, directed manipulative trading in the company's shares between 2014 and 2015, including intraday spoofing, and that Brandt and Pawlowicz took part through match trades and account access. Spoofing is attributed to Seemann.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

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Disgorgement

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Prejudgment interest

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Total relief

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Alleged gain

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A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars.

What is alleged to have happened

the Ontario Securities Commission announced this matter on May 3, 2018 as release 2018-19. The respondents named are Harald Seemann, Jens Brandt and Karl Pawlowicz (3 individuals, 0 entities).

This library tags the matter as spoofing, based on the conduct the regulator describes. Each tag links to a page explaining how that technique works, what statute it engages, and what penalties comparable actions have attracted. The tagging is ours, not the regulator's: agencies charge statutory provisions, not technique names.

The statement of allegations says Seemann, a Big Rock Labs founder and director, directed manipulative trading in the company's shares between 2014 and 2015, including intraday spoofing, and that Brandt and Pawlowicz took part through match trades and account access. Spoofing is attributed to Seemann.

The conduct is recorded against crypto and equities.

A cached settlement agreement shows a $12,500 payment by one respondent; the outcomes for the others could not be read, so no status or figure is recorded.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Spoofing — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2018-05-03 Settlement Agreement
2. 2018-05-03 Statement of Allegations
3. 2018-05-07 Other
4. 2018-05-07 Reasons and Decision
5. 2018-05-29 Notice of Hearing
6. 2018-05-29 Settlement Agreement
7. 2018-05-29 Settlement Agreement
8. 2018-05-30 Notice of Hearing
9. 2018-06-01 Other
10. 2018-06-01 Other
11. 2018-06-01 Document
12. 2018-06-01 Reasons and Decision

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• Tribunal proceeding
• Settlement Agreement
• Statement of Allegations
• Other
• Reasons and Decision
• Notice of Hearing
• Settlement Agreement
• Settlement Agreement
• Notice of Hearing
• Other
• Other
• Document

The linked release is published by the issuing regulator under its own terms. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.