On May 11, 2016, we sent a letter to BCSC Chair BRENDA LEONG and requested she provide (to us) any correspondence between her Staff Litigators (C. Paige Leggat and Olubode Fagbamiye) and the Executive Director ( Paul Bourque ) regarding the Settlement Offer we were trying to bring forward that would possibly have brought funds back to the former investors in FCC and DCF.
As you see in this letter FOI Request #1617-0005 – Reply from BCSC – June 16, 2016.pub , Ms. Leong indicates there are no records matching my request. We don’t even want to begin to understand why there would be NO correspondence between lawyers/clients when millions of dollars could have been at stake for the investors – how is this even possible??
Not having internal correspondence between relevant parties (considering what was at stake for the former investors) reeks of unprofessionalism by Staff and certainly does not give any confidence they truly had the best interest of the investors during all relevant times.
That being said, Leong is either lying or (for whatever reason) there truly are NO records of correspondence between her star lawyers and their higher ups. Either way, this translates into a huge problem for the BCSC. Here’s why….
Assuming she is not lying, as per the Code of Ethic’s on the Law Society of British Columbia’s website , a lawyer must present ANY settlement offer it is presented to their client to avoid hearing. Staff DID NOT do this as they have admitted this in letters to the Respondents. In a file of this magnitude, and with the numerous attempts by us to settle – there is not one internal document related to the settlement offer that was presented? We truly find this hard to believe but if true – these are the people that are “protecting the capital markets in BC”??? Time for a WAKE UP CALL BRITISH COLUMBIA!!
And if she is lying then this becomes a bigger problem as she has been appointed to that position by elected government officials – more than likely Finance Minister Michael De jong or Premier Christy Clark.
In the first scenario above, we have the facts:
- The Respondents submitted a Settlement Offer to the Commission on November 7, 2013 – Staff did not respond until December 30, 2013.
- When Staff did reply, they stated they had NOT taken the Settlement Offer to the Executive Director and would only do so IF we plead guilty to ALL allegations AND paid approximately $5.8 million in fines and disgorgement.
- As of June 16, 2016, we now have it in writing that there in NO communications whatsoever between Staff and the Executive Director with respect to any discussion regarding the Settlement Offer.
As we were preparing this latest blog post – something remarkable just became VERY apparent….what is happening down at the BCSC???
(Source: mypersonaltrainervancouver.com)
C.Paige Leggat – Staff Litigator RESIGNED OR TERMINATED IN 2014
(Source: mingpaocanada.com)
Teresa Mitchell-Banks – Director of Enforcement RESIGNED OR TERMINATED IN 2015
(Source: cbc.ca)
Paul C. Bourque – Executive Director RESIGNED IN 2016
These are the 3 major parties that would have been responsible for negotiating, accepting or denying the settlement agreement WITH the investor in mind.
PLEASE….FORMER INVESTORS IN FCC AND DCF – HELP US GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS. AGAIN, THIS SETTLEMENT OFFER WAS NOT EVEN PRESENTED TO THE ONLY PERSON THAT COULD HAVE ACCEPTED IT ON YOUR BEHALF!
******CONTACT THE BCSC AND FIND OUT WHY!******
604-899-5600 or email them at: inquiries@bcsc.bc.ca
IF THEY DON’T ANSWER YOU, GO ABOVE THEIR HEADS AND CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MLA OR OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL! ITS VITAL!
I’m wondering, What would Ms Leong’s benefits be in this for not proceding to the proper people.
Ms. Krahn, thankyou for your reply. Brenda Leong is the Chair of the BCSC – their top dog if you will.
The parties involved with not taking the Settlement Offer to the Executive Director (Paul Bourque) were Staff Litigators (C. Paige Leggat and Olubode Fagbamiye). Again, they said the only way the settlement offer would go past them and on to the Executive Directors was IF I admitted to allegations that were NOT true and pay $5.8 million in fines and restitution. Setting the money aspect aside for a moment, we were not prepared to admit to something that was NOT factual true.
Back to your original question – why would they do this? I don’t work at the BCSC but from what one can tell – this is a group that I firmly believe think what they are doing is assisting in the capital markets – making them safer for investors and protecting the public in British Columbia. My point however is they are NOT immune from making mistakes. In fact, they made several mistakes in the preparation of the hearing and in their legal documents. I firmly believe they manipulated evidence after the hearing as they began to realize there investigators did not properly do their jobs. I have no idea why they would do this is the short answer and overtime we will continue to try to find out why. Thanks again for your comment. RW
Do we as investors or were inwestors have a chance to ever get funds back ? We feel lost in this long drown out mess. if we talk to some one higher up is thier hope for us? or are we just going for more disapountmets.
Anna, thank you for your post. The BCSC has issued a $517,500 disgorgement order against the Respondents. We raised $9.3 million dollars so this would translate into approximately 5.5% of the total amount raised that we have been ordered to repay. The other $500,000 fine they issued goes directly into their pockets and NOT to any investors. This is why I pushed so hard to get the BCSC to accept my settlement offer back in the fall of 2013. You (as part of the total investor group) were going to participate in the build out of the 56 units in the project. Staff Litigators (working directly for the BCSC) would not take the offer to their higher ups for whatever reason – I was just told that this was NOT the way the BCSC operated. This would have been the best option for anyone wanting to receive any money back. I truly wish they would have accepted it – let alone even looked at it. Now is the time for them to answer some very important questions…
I would start by contacting the BCSC at 604-899-6500 or emailing them at inquiries@bcsc.bc.ca and asking them the following questions:
1. Did the Respondents (RW, WKL, FCC, and DCF) send a Settlement Proposal to the BCSC on November 7, 2013?
2. Did the Settlement Proposal allow for participation (as shareholders) for all investors in FCC and DCF?
3. Why did it take Staff Litigators 7 weeks to respond to such a time-sensitive email?
4. If the BCSC’s Mission if to “protect the public interest by fostering a securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence is to look” – then why would you not a least explore the opportunity the Respondents placed before you?
5. Why did you Staff Litigators not even show the ONLY person that could have accepted the Settlement Proposal (the Executive Director)?
Once you have your answers, maybe you could come back here and post them for us? Thank you.