The Ontario Securities Commission has applied under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act for a bankruptcy order against Harry Stinson and for a trustee to take control of his assets after he failed to pay sanctions and costs imposed by the Capital Markets Tribunal in December 2023. The unpaid order includes more than CAD 13 million in disgorgement and CAD 600,000 in administrative penalties linked to fundraising for a hotel renovation project in Buffalo, New York, where the Tribunal found breaches of Ontario securities law. The OSC said it gave Stinson opportunities to comply after he argued that refinancing, restoring, reopening and potentially selling the Buffalo Grand Hotel could generate funds to repay investors, but the refinancing did not materialize. His 2025 application to vary the sanctions and costs order was dismissed, and the hotel's position worsened after the City of Buffalo began a process in December 2025 to have the property deemed abandoned because it was subject to an order to vacate, overdue real property taxes, and zoning and safety code violations. After a further financing proposal collapsed in 2026, the OSC said Stinson had not shown a viable path to make investors whole or satisfy the sanctions, making the bankruptcy application necessary to try to recover amounts that could be distributed to harmed investors. A public hearing is scheduled for September 23, 2026. The court will decide whether to appoint a trustee to assume control of Stinson's assets.

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