The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has ordered that the funds recovered in a fraudulent investment scheme be returned to investors.
Back in 2012, a BCSC hearing panel ordered $1.5 million in disgorgement, along with other sanctions, against Michael Shantz and his company, Canadian Pacific Consulting (CPC), after finding that they defrauded several European investors.
The panel found that Shantz and CPC duped 11 investors into opening trading accounts with the firm, which purported to trade gold futures and foreign exchange (FX) on their behalf. Instead, the investors lost their money to the scheme.
Now, the BCSC has ordered that the $131,781 it has recovered in the case be paid out to six investors who submitted claims to the commission.
The BCSC noted that it’s “unclear” whether any more money will be recovered in the case.
According to the BCSC order, the six investors who submitted claims were seeking the return of more than $750,000. By far the biggest claim — for more than $600,000 —came from the estate of one of the scheme’s now-deceased victims.
The regulator ordered payouts to investors on a pro-rated basis “based on how much each person invested, less any money received from CPC.”
The payments range from less than $2,500 to over $100,000.
In addition to the disgorgement order, Shantz was ordered to pay a $630,000 penalty, and he was permanently banned from the capital markets.