B.C.'s securities regulator has fined a West Vancouver man $6 million and banned him from trading for life after finding that he defrauded investors of $1.3 million.
The B.C. Securities Commission has ruled that Luc Castiglioni, director of CPLC Management Group and CPLC Limited Partnership, fraudulently diverted the funds from six investors.
Instead of investing the money, Castiglioni kept the majority for himself, gave some to a company directed by his wife and used thousands to pay off credit-card bills, according to the BCSC panel.
The panel found that Castiglioni made up false account statements to fool investors, and falsely told them that he was a registered financial advisor working for a registered portfolio manager.
"This was a lie, and a serious one," the panel said in a release Monday. "Registration is one of the key investor protection mechanisms ... and a representation of registration leads investors to a degree of trust and reliance they otherwise would not have."
In all, the BCSC says Castiglioni raised $8.2 million from 60 investors, despite the fact that he and his companies weren't properly registered.
The BCSC panel also found that Castiglioni gave false and misleading information to the commission, forging bank statements to fool investigators.
"His conduct went far beyond a lack of candour or a mere denial. He concocted an elaborate deception, including the use of forged bank statements, with a view to frustrating staff's attempt to discover the truth," the panel said.
The panel ruled that an appropriate penalty would be three times the amount of the fraud, plus a $2-million penalty for aggravating factors. Castiglioni was also ordered to pay back the $1.3 million.
CPLC has been petitioned into bankruptcy by investors.
