BCSC panel fines and permanently bans purported Chicago-based investment firm for fraud

VANCOUVER, June 20, 2014 /CNW/ - A British Columbia Securities Commission panel has permanently banned a purported Chicago-based investment firm for perpetrating a fraud against three B.C. investors.

The panel found that Strategic Global Investments (Strategic) raised US$80,000 from three investors in B.C. by convincing them to invest in gold and currency options. Strategic claimed to be in the business of foreign exchange and commodities trading, but the panel found it was a sham, saying Strategic "had no head office, its website was a fiction, and it was not registered in the United States or Canada to trade in gold or currency options. Strategic could therefore not have legally invested the investors' money in those investments."

The panel found that Strategic committed a fraud. In that regard, representatives of Strategic made false statements to the three investors to entice them to invest, and then, according to the panel, "Strategic simply stole their money." To date, not a single investor has recovered any money from Strategic.

In its decision, that panel stated that Strategic is, "clearly unfit ever to participate in B.C.'s capital markets in any capacity."

The panel cease-traded Strategic. The panel permanently prohibited Strategic from trading or purchasing securities or exchange contracts, from acting as a registrant or promoter, from engaging in investor relations activities, and from acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with the securities market. 

The panel also ordered Strategic to pay to the commission disgorgement of the $80,000 it obtained as a result of its contraventions of the Securities Act, as well as an administrative penalty of $240,000.

You may view the sanctions decision on our website (www.bcsc.bc.ca) by typing Strategic Global Investments or 2014 BCSECCOM 235 in the search box. Information regarding disciplinary proceedings can be found in the Enforcement section of the BCSC website.

Please visit the Canadian Securities Administrators' Disciplined Persons List for information relating to persons disciplined by provincial securities regulators, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA).

About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)

The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:

• A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence
• A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital

Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org

SOURCE: British Columbia Securities Commission

Media Contact: Richard Gilhooley, Media Relations, 604-899-6713; Public inquiries: 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free)