Oliver Folkard, Rupert Folkard and Joseph Goldfinger are facing fraud charges in connection with an alleged advance fee scheme and a purported virtual currency scheme, the Ontario Securities Commission announced on Wednesday.
Oliver Folkard of no fixed address has been charged with 11 counts of fraud over $5,000, three counts of fraud under $5,000 and one count of uttering a forged document; Rupert Folkard of Toronto has been charged with four counts of fraud over; and Goldfinger, also of Toronto, has been charged with four counts of fraud over and one count of forgery following an investigation by the OSC’s Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT).
None of the allegations against the three men have been proven. Rupert Folkard and Joseph Goldfinger are scheduled to appear in court in Toronto on April 15 and an arrest warrant has been issued for Oliver Folkard, who, “is not believed to be in Canada,” according to a statement from the OSC.
The Folkards and Goldfinger allegedly defrauded Toronto area investors of approximately $187,000 between Jan. 1, 2014 and Feb. 29, 2016 in either an advance fee scheme that involved victims paying to repair their credit ratings and/or to obtain lines of credit, or a fraudulent virtual currency scheme, according to the OSC’s news release. Furthermore, the OSC reports that one investor was given an account statement that was allegedly forged.