A Hawaiian court has ordered the sale of property co-owned by David Michael Michaels, who was found to have committed fraud against hundreds of investors, at the behest of the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC).
The BCSC found that Michaels committed fraud against 484 investors — a number of them seniors — with sanctions of $23.3 million imposed against him in 2014.
The commission subsequently filed a lawsuit against property he co-owned on the island state, as well as a separate suit concerning a property in Mill Bay, B.C., which he doesn’t own.
READ MORE: Central Alberta man charged with fraud in $2.6M fracking invention investigation
In June, the BCSC struck an agreement with Michaels that would see the commission recover funds so that investors could be repaid.
The agreement would see the Hawaii property sold and the commission collect the proceeds, which would be handed over to victims, said Doug Muir, the BCSC’s director of enforcement.
“We’re hoping it’ll be around C$750,000,” he said.
Michaels will also pay the commission $50,000 in cash. That, too, will be given to investors.
READ MORE: Central Alberta man charged with fraud in $2.6M fracking invention investigation
Muir said the agreement won’t stop the BCSC from continuing to collect money from Michaels.
“This is a good result for investors, this gets us some money that we can get back to investors sooner rather than having to go through the entire litigation process,” Muir said in a news release.
READ MORE: RCMP looking for pair charged with fraud in connection with mail thefts
But he added that this is simply a step in the process.
“It will go towards some of the amount that Mr. Michaels owes, but it won’t be the end of it. He did owe us $23.3 million,” he said.
Victims will be instructed on how to make claims against Michaels on the BCSC’s website.
Comments