Kevin Woster mentioned this point in his soon-to-be KELO-ized blog; the South Dakota Division of Securities is now investigating whether Powertech violated state law by selling stock in the state.
Accusations have emerged that Powertech representatives were selling stock or encouraging area residents to buy stock. If true, the company would have been required to register with the Division of Securities within 15 days of selling stock to a South Dakota resident. However, Powertech isn’t registered.
Richard Clement, company CEO, said Powertech has not directly sold stock in South Dakota, and that any Powertech stockholders in South Dakota acquired their stock through brokers. The company’s shares are sold through the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“We’re not allowed to sell stock in the U.S. or promote stock, but anyone can buy on the Canadian Stock Exchange,” Clement said [Jonathan Ellis, "Stock in Uranium Company Spurs Investigation in S.D.," that Sioux Falls paper, 2013.09.28].
If Powertech did sell stock to anyone in South Dakota, those buyers might be a little embarrassed to come forward. Powertech stock has dropped from $4 a share in 2007 to 10 cents a share now.
Powertech says (meaning this could be complete baloney) that it knows of one South Dakotan who owns 5,000 shares. If that poor soul bought those shares in 2007, she or he is out $19,500, or 97.5% of the original investment.
So the market is saying Powertech is a bad investment. And its staff may not be able to figure out a simple process like South Dakota's broker-dealer licensing. Can we trust them to handle something as complicated and risky as uranium mining and waste disposal?