Investors gave B.C. man $452,000. He said he was a licensed day-trader, but he wasn’t: BCSC

The B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) has set an appointment for a man who allegedly took $452,000 from investors for day-trading purposes, spent almost half of it on expenses that had nothing to do with trading, and only ever repaid a fraction of the money.

William Wade Furman faces a hearing into allegations of fraud after he allegedly gathered the money between 2012 and 2014, using two companies that he incorporated.

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Those companies were Liquidus Holdings Inc., through which he allegedly took $120,000 from five investors by distributing securities, and Liquidus Capital Inc., through which he allegedly gathered $332,000 from eight investors, also by distributing securities.

The BCSC alleged that Furman raised the money by “falsely claiming that he was a successful, licensed day-trader and that he would use their money to day-trade on their behalf.”

Furman was never registered as a day-trader under B.C.’s Securities Act, the commission affirmed.

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In a notice of hearing, the BCSC alleged that Furman only used $229,000 to day-trade, and that the rest of the money went to retail purchases, bill payments, cash withdrawals, repayments to other investors and payments to himself.

Furman also allegedly misled investors by providing fabricated monthly reports that showed how his trades were performing. Reports were published on the letterhead of a registered investment dealer, the BCSC said.

The commission said Furman has repaid $41,150 of the $452,000 that he raised from investors. An amount totalling $410,850 has yet to be recovered, it added.

None of the allegations have been proven.

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The BCSC said Furman was a B.C. resident at the time that these transactions happened, but now, “his current whereabouts are unknown.”

Furman faces an appointment with the executive director of the BCSC on April 10 at 9 a.m., if he wants to be heard before the commission sets a date for a hearing.

At a hearing, Furman can retain counsel, provide evidence and make submissions.

If neither Furman nor counsel shows up at a hearing, then determinations can be made about Furman in his absence.