The April edition of the Enforcement Roundup covers recent enforcement news from the BC Securities Commission (BCSC) and the New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada (New SRO). We also highlight 14 new additions to the Investment Caution List.
BCSC Enforcement
BCSC Settlement Agreements
Erwin Liem (a.k.a. Surya Chandra, Li Hong Chan), Mydecine Innovations Group Inc. (a.k.a. New Age Farm)
Liem has settled with the BCSC for failing to file insider reports and early warning reports disclosing his stake in a company. Under the settlement, Liem paid the Commission $40,000 and is barred from the investment market for 20 years.
Liem has a history of securities-related misconduct. In April 2009, Liem pleaded guilty to three counts of theft over $5000, relating to transactions in 1997 and 1998 involving the securities of a publicly-traded company. Liem received a 9-month conditional sentence for this misconduct.
Read the news release for full details.
Neighbourhood Holding Company Ltd. (NHCL)
NHCL has agreed to pay $40,000 to the BCSC for trading in securities without being registered.
Read the news release for full details.
BCSC Sanctions
Michael Lathigee
Michael Lathigee has paid US$350,000 to the BCSC as partial payment for the millions of dollars in financial sanctions it imposed on him in 2014.
The payment is part of a settlement between the BCSC and Lathigee that also requires him to comply with several conditions, including submitting quarterly notarized financial disclosure forms.
A BCSC panel found in 2014 that Lathigee fraudulently raised millions of dollars from investors without telling them about the financial condition of companies he controlled. He also used the money to make loans to related companies, instead of investing the funds in foreclosures of residential properties.
Read the news release for full details.
BCSC Findings & Decisions
New Point Exploration Corp. (a.k.a. Bam Bam Resources Corp., Majuba Hill Copper Corp.), Bryn Gardener-Evans
New Point Exploration Corp. and its former CEO Gardener-Evans, made misrepresentations and filed misleading statements by omitting from its disclosure that most of the funds raised in two private placements would be used to pay consultants, a BCSC panel has found.
Before the hearing, New Point had entered into an agreed statement of facts with the BCSC’s Executive Director, in which the company admitted liability for misrepresentation and filing false or misleading statements, in exchange for a recommendation that there should be no sanction against the company. The company’s former Chief Financial Officer and Director, Norman George Wilfred Wareham, entered into a settlement with the BCSC’s Executive Director, in which he agreed to a suspension from market activities and paid $10,000 to the BCSC.
The panel directed the Executive Director and Gardener-Evans to make submissions on sanctions.
Read the news release for full details.
Timothy Craig Durkin, Sooke Harbour House, SHH Holdings Limited
The BCSC has ordered Durkin to pay a $600,000 penalty for lying to an investor about the ownership of Sooke Harbour House, a well-known historic Vancouver Island hotel.
In addition to the $600,000 administrative penalty, the BCSC panel permanently barred Durkin from B.C.’s investment market.
The panel also ordered SHH to pay $1 million, representing the amount it obtained from the fraud. However, that amount owing to the BCSC would be reduced by the amount paid, if any, to the investor as a result of a judgment in a civil action in the B.C. Supreme Court.
Read the news release for full details.
BCSC Notice About the Availability of Funds
Paul Se Hui Oei, Canadian Manu Immigration & Financial Services Inc.
Investors defrauded by Oei and Canadian Manu Immigration & Financial Services Inc. can apply to get some of their money back, after the BCSC received partial payment of a financial sanction. Investors may make a claim using this form no later than August 11, 2023.
Read the news release for full details.
New SRO Enforcement
New SRO Settlement Agreement
Sungsoo (Steve) Lee
Lee admitted that commencing October 2020, he failed to cooperate with an investigation into his conduct by MFDA staff.
He’s been permanently prohibited from conducting securities-related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any MFDA member, and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine and $5,000 in costs.
Lee carried on business in Burnaby, British Columbia.
Read the news release for full details.
BCSC Early Intervention
Investment Caution List
The BCSC publishes an Investment Caution List to notify British Columbians about unqualified investments and unregistered activity originating from outside of the province that accept BC residents as clients.
Below are the April additions to the Investment Caution List.
Premier Finance Limited
Premier Finance Limited claims to be located in the UK, and it also claims to offer accounts for trading in cryptocurrencies, stocks, ETFs, forex, and commodities.
Zylo Trade Limited
Zylo Trade Limited claims to have offices in London, England, and it also claims to offer trading services and investment plans for forex, gold, and cryptocurrencies.
MilleniumOne
MilleniumOne claims to be located in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and it also claims to offer accounts for trading in forex, commodities, and indices.
MTcapitals
MTcapitals claims to be located in Switzerland, and it also claims to offer accounts for trading in crypto, stocks, and commodities.
Bitcore
Bitcore claims to offer an online cryptocurrency trading platform.
CryptoKings
CryptoKings claims to be located in British Columbia, and it also claims to offer investment plans for trading in cryptocurrencies.
The Financial Investment Group
The Financial Investment Group claims to offer accounts for trading in stocks, forex, cryptocurrencies, indices, and commodities.
Forbes Capital Partners
Forbes Capital Partners claims to be located in Malta, and it also claims to offer investment plans with different rates of return.
Wasixcap
Wasixcap claims to be located in Switzerland, and it also claims to offer accounts for trading in cryptocurrency, stocks, forex, commodities, and indices.
CFD Trades
CFD Trades claims to be located in Dublin, and it also claims to offer accounts for trading in cryptocurrencies, stocks, indices, commodities, and forex.
ExpertOptionxx
ExpertOptionxx claims to be located in the United States, and it also claims to offer investment plans for trading in cryptocurrencies.
Phantomgap
Phantomgap claims to be located in Switzerland, and it also claims to offer accounts for trading in cryptocurrencies.
ITC FX
ITC FX claims to be located in London, UK, and it also claims to offer online accounts for trading in cryptocurrencies, commodities, stocks, indices, forex, and stocks.
WiseCryptoCapital
WiseCryptoCapital claims to be located in the United Kingdom, and it also claims to offer accounts for trading in cryptocurrencies, forex, CFDs, stocks, indices, and commodities.
Report a Concern
If you have any concerns about a person or company offering an investment opportunity, please contact BCSC Contact Centre at 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 or by e-mail at [email protected]. You can also file a complaint or submit a tip anonymously using the BCSC’s online complaint form.
InvestRight.org is the BCSC’s investor education website. Subscribe to receive email updates from BCSC InvestRight.
