The Ontario Securities Commission announced that Seyed Mohammad Ali Nojoumi, Behnaz Samavat and Amir Mostoufi have been charged under the Criminal Code with fraud over CAD 5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime in connection with Smart Prime Group Inc., which claimed to be in the asset management business. The OSC alleges the group, described as the operating minds behind Smart Prime, promised 28 investors their funds would be placed in individual trading accounts but instead routed the money to personal and unrelated third-party accounts. Investor funds were allegedly used for personal expenditures and to pay other investors, and neither Smart Prime nor its operators are registered to sell securities in Ontario. The investigation began as an OSC probe into an affinity-related securities investment scheme in York Region and was completed in cooperation with the York Regional Police, with assistance from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada. Mostoufi and Samavat were previously arrested and released, and are scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice on January 8 and January 22, 2026. Nojoumi was arrested and charged and is being held for bail, to be remanded to a date determined by the court.
Ontario Securities Commission 2025-12-10
Ontario Securities Commission investigation results in Criminal Code fraud and proceeds-of-crime charges against Smart Prime Group operators
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has charged Seyed Mohammad Ali Nojoumi, Behnaz Samavat, and Amir Mostoufi with fraud over CAD 5,000 and possession of proceeds of crime related to Smart Prime Group Inc. The OSC alleges the group misappropriated investor funds for personal use and to pay other investors, without being registered to sell securities in Ontario. The investigation, conducted with York Regional Police and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, began as a probe into an affinity-related securities scheme.