Invest British Columbia Colombia fraud leads to record 47 million fine (the globe and mail)

Published on 15 December 2010 5 H 27 ESTLast updated 15 December 2010 5 H 39 EST6 comments

British Columbia Colombia investment dealer that target members of a Korean religious community in the province ordered to pay penalties for a total of $ 47 million after a British Columbia Securities Commission Panel ruled that it has committed fraud.

The Commission said Kim Sung Wan (Sean) raised $ 15.7 million 36 investors and has not invested their money in futures and options contracts as promised. Instead of this, most of the money went into his personal bank account, and none was recovered for investors.

"Kim to steal money from investors," the panel hearing BCSC stated in a decision published Wednesday. "He lied about how their funds would be invested and the benefits that they could win."

Sentencing is a record amount for a case of the Commission, stated the Director of the enforcement Lang Evans. But whereas the commission will be "aggressive" try to seize assets to enforce the latter judgment, Mr Evans said that it was unlikely that much can be retrieved to pay the fine.

This is because that most investors ' money has been transferred abroad, until the Commission can freeze accounts, and because Mr. Kim is now in jail in Korea South. He was arrested he after fleeing the Canada and was recently recognized British Colombia fraud guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison. It appeals from conviction.

"This is an outrageous this individual fraud", Mr. Evans said in an interview Wednesday. "And it is a tragic story."

Victims by Mr. Kim came from the Evangelical Church of Korean Foursquare in Vancouver, most of them holding dual nationality Canadian-Korean. Mr. Kim promised yields ranging from 26% to 60% per year on their investments.

In his fraud, he also forged supposed to come from the Commission saying falsely commission monitoring of its business, the Cirplus assistance letters. He also prepared false statements showing the profits earned by the investors.

"All these statements were false," said the Commission. "The investors have received no feedback and each of them have lost their main".

Most investors gave Mr. Kim hundreds of thousands of dollars, and one testified at the hearing, it has invested $ 1.4 million and is now mostly bankrupt.

Commission said that it was not attenuating the case and the Panel has decided that it was appropriate to require by Mr. Kim from "deprive" 15.7 million collected from investors and pay an administrative penalty equal to twice the amount he took his victims or 31.4 million.

Also permanently, it is prohibited to act as Director or officer of a public company or work in the investment industry in the province.