The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) said on Monday that Peblik Inc. executive Stephan Katmarian has been sentenced to six months in jail and 18 months’ probation for securities fraud.
Katmarian served as executive director, managing director and board chair of Peblik, which sold investors notes convertible into a cryptocurrency called the ‘Peblik Token’. The token was never launched.
The notes were marketed on the claim that the token’s value was backed by the Thierry Mine, a large, inactive Northern Ontario mine. The OSC said Peblik had no valid interest in the mine, and that Katmarian was aware of and responsible for the misrepresentation.
Between January 2018 and August 2019, Peblik raised about $480,000 from 32 investors, all of whom lost their money.
“Making false claims about the financial backing of assets is fraud,” said Bonnie Lysyk, Executive Vice President, Enforcement, at the OSC.
Katmarian was acquitted of all charges by the Ontario Court of Justice in March 2024. The OSC appealed, and in June 2025 the Ontario Superior Court of Justice substituted a conviction on securities fraud.
Katmarian is now appealing that conviction at the Court of Appeal for Ontario.
