The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) is alleging that the executives of an insurance group have committed investment fraud.
The independent provincial agency claims that the directors and founders of FS Financial Strategies – Aik Guan “Frankie” Lim and Scott Thomas Low – dishonestly raised more than $47 million in investments, between 2012 and 2017. BCSC alleges that the executives failed to disclose to investors that the company’s profitability and financial situation was in the red.
In a notice of hearing, BCSC also claimed that FS Financial Strategies general manager Darrell Wayne Wiebe was part of the conspiracy, routinely advising Lim and Low how much the company needed to raise from investors to stay in business.
Investors in FS Financial Strategies were promised interest payments of 10% to 12%, payable monthly, the agency said. Both Lim and Low “created an illusion of profitability” by opening new offices in quick succession, donating cash to charities, telling customers of the company’s plans to go public, and even hosting parties for clients and staff in luxurious hotels.
BCSC’s notice of hearing names six more executives – Chun Ying “Jim” Pan, Chung-Sheng “Johnson” Kao, George Lay, Gagan Deep Bachra, Chi Kay “Dixon” Wong and Meng Cher “Philip” Tsai – who were appointed as directors of related companies in the FS Insurance group. These companies also sold unsecured loans. The companies are purported to have sold securities without a prospectus and without being properly registered to do so.
In addition to committing fraud, selling securities without a prospectus, and selling securities without being registered, BCSC alleges that Lim and Low violated the BC Securities Act by continuing to trade and sell securities despite promising the BCSC executive director in 2014 that they would stop.
A hearing on the case has been set for December 04, 2018.
