The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has charged a father and son in an alleged securities fraud.
The ASC said Friday that it has brought charges in provincial court against an Edmonton businessman, Jeremy (Jay) Peers, alleging 33 counts of breaching Alberta’s securities laws. It also charged his son, Robert Peers, with one count.
The ASC claims that Jay Peers engaged in a fraud by using investor funds to pay returns to earlier investors and to make transfers to related parties. It also says he sold securities in a firm called Federal Mortgage Corporation Ltd., which had not filed a prospectus, and without registering as a dealer. And, it claims that he misrepresented the degree to which Federal Mortgage Corporation and another firm, Peers Foster Kristiansen Inc., were safe investments, and that he failed to disclose the financial difficulties of both corporations to investors.
Additionally, ASC staff allege that Robert Peers participated in a fraud on investors through his involvement in the transfer of investor funds to related parties without loan or investment documentation.
The allegations have not been proven. The first appearance in the case is scheduled for August 30 in an Edmonton court.