News Release

 Vancouver – The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has ordered that $131,781, plus interest, be paid to several investors for losses incurred from a fraudulent investment scheme. 

Michael Shantz and his company, Canadian Pacific Consulting (CPC), were found by a BCSC panel to have committed fraud by soliciting German and Swiss residents to open trading accounts with CPC. Shantz and CPC, which maintained a fake office in Vancouver, falsely claimed that they would conduct gold futures or foreign exchange trading on behalf of these individuals. Shantz and CPC were not registered to engage in trading.

In May 2012, the panel ordered Shantz and CPC to pay the BCSC $1.53 million under section 161(1)(g) of the Securities Act, representing the amount obtained as a result of the illegal activity. It also ordered Shantz to pay an administrative penalty of $630,000 and permanently banned him from B.C.’s capital markets.

Under the Securities Act, the BCSC must make available the money it receives from a section 161(1)(g) order to investors who lost money in that case. Six claims, totaling $755,596, were submitted to the BCSC related to Shantz’s and CPC’s illegal activity. The BCSC had recovered $131,781, and it is unclear if any more money can be collected.

The BCSC panel ordered that the recovered funds be distributed on a pro-rated basis to the six claimants, based on how much each person invested, less any money received from CPC. The size of the payments, excluding interest, range from $2,477 to $106,615, plus an additional pro-rated amount to each claimant from the accumulated interest.

For more information on how the BCSC returns fund to investors, visit the Returning Funds to Investors page on the BCSC website, which can be found under the Enforcement tab of www.bcsc.bc.ca.

About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)  

The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:

• A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence
• A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital  

Media Contact:
Brian Kladko
604-899-6713

Public inquiries:
604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free)
inquiries@bcsc.bc.ca