3 Businesses Ordered to Stop Selling Securities

Three Encino businesses and two individuals have been ordered by the state Department of Corporations to stop selling securities without the department’s approval.

The businesses are Searchlight Goldmining and Regency Quad Fund, both limited partnerships, and Continental Business Management Corp., the managing partner of Searchlight and Regency. The individuals are Continental’s president, Philip Gardner, and his brother, Garth Gardner, whom Philip described as a Continental shareholder.

Continental remains suspended as a California corporation for non-payment of business taxes, and Gardner is being sued by two investor groups in connection with Regency Quad and Searchlight.

Philip Gardner, 58, said he intends to comply with state requirements, and that the securities were improperly sold because of faulty advice from an attorney. Garth Gardner could not be reached for comment.