The British Columbia Securities Commission today fined three men for defrauding investors of more than $2 million.

Paul O’Connor, a former investment adviser, lied to three elderly clients to entice them to redeem their mutual fund holdings and give him the money, which he used for his own business and personal expenses, according to the commission. O’Connor told the clients their money would go to Conservative Investment & Estate Consultants, a firm he operated.

Between 1998 and 2001, the clients gave O’Connor about $163,000. They lost nearly all of the money, the BCSC said.

The BCSC permanently banned O’Connor from the capital markets and ordered him to pay $248,000 in penalties and costs.

“O’Connor wilfully ignored securities requirements, put his own interests in front of those of his clients, showed complete disregard for his regulatory duties, and lied to the clients,” the panel said in its decision.

The commission also issued sanctions against Steven Hughes, a former registrant, who it describes as “the most dangerous kind of market abuser there is.”

According to the commission, Hughes sold what he called high-yield, low-risk securities to people in and around Kamloops, B.C., promising them a two-year return of 25%

He used at least $1.1 million of this money for his personal expenses, the commission said, and he continued to trade securities in contravention of a cease-trade order.

Hughes has been permanently banned from the capital markets and ordered to pay a penalty of $250,000.

Finally, the commission levied $50,000 sanctions against Eric Nelson, who it says worked as an investment adviser without being registered as required under securities laws.

Nelson gathered more than $550,000 from investors, using some of it for himself, and losing much of it trading options on the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 100.

The BCSC banned Nelson from the capital markets for 10 years.