News Release

Released: 25/04/01 Contact: Andrew Poon
NR 01-14 (604) 899-6880 or
(BC only) 1-800-373-6393

Vancouver -- The B.C. Securities Commission has imposed a Temporary Cease Trade Order against three companies and six people who persuaded B.C. investors to put their money into "risk-free" investments touting returns of up to 300 per cent a year.

The order, which bars any further buying and selling of securities in an investment scheme involving prime bank instruments and bank debenture trading programs, has been issued against Tri-West Investment Club, Haarlem Universal Corp., Jason Kingsley (president of Tri-West), Alan Richards, Mark Goldman, and Alex Haarlem (founder of Haarlem Universal Corp.). The order is in effect until the Commission hearing May 4.

Through a San Diego-based website, Tri-West and Haarlem are urging investors to send funds to Haarlem in the central American city of Belize. Previously, funds were transferred to a bank in Latvia.

The Commission order also names Del Michel Albert Delisle, John Byron and First Equity Capital. The order alleges Del Delisle and Byron offered B.C. residents the opportunity to invest in the bank debenture trading program.

BCSC staff allege several violations of the B.C. Securities Act including:

• perpetrating a fraud on B.C. residents;
• trading in securities without registration or appropriate exemptions;
• providing investment advice without registration or appropriate exemptions;
• distributing securities without a prospectus.

Possible sanctions include lifetime trading bans and financial penalties of up to $100,000 for each violation.

BCSC investigator Paul Rankin said the Tri-West scheme involves a form of multi-level marketing in which people who refer the scheme to others receive 15 per cent of a new investor's return.

"People have been approached in a variety of circumstances," said Rankin. "In one case, a volunteer at a federal election polling station was told of the scheme by a fellow volunteer."

The minimum investment is $1,000 US with a promised monthly rate of return of 10 per cent. Tri-West and Haarlem claim that returns exceed 300 per cent, that there is no risk to principal and that investments are secured by a bank endorsed guarantee. There are an estimated 21,000 members in the Tri-West Investment Club.

The B.C. Commission, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Federal Reserve and the RCMP have issued warnings about fraudulent bank debenture trading programs and prime bank instrument schemes. The International Chamber of Commerce (I.C.C.) has labelled “bank debenture trading programs” as false and misleading and say such programs “do not exist”.

Securities regulators in Saskatchewan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Illinois, Kansas, and South Dakota have issued cease trade orders against Tri-West for making unregistered offers of securities. Securities regulators in Texas have issued an order citing Tri-West for making misleading statements in connection with fraudulent trading programs.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have warned the public of financial schemes misusing their names. Both the IMF and the World Bank say they do not issue or guarantee any obligations called prime bank notes or “prime bank guarantees” or sponsor investment programs or “high-yield investment programs".

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities and exchange contracts within the province. Copies of the decision can be viewed in the documents database of the commission’s website www.bcsc.bc.ca or by contacting Media Relations Officer Andrew Poon at 899-6880.