They were victims of one of the oldest scams around. Now they are speaking out about how they were swindled out of thousands of dollars by four British Columbia residents, who were found guilty of running a fraudulent Ponzi scheme.

The victims included Jerry Schaab, who was recruited by a trusted friend into a club thinking he was going to be making big money on an investment with huge returns.

"I decided to do it because it was such a good deal,'' he said.

But he wound up among 800 investors who were bilked out of about US$10 million through a fraudulent investment scheme called Manna, which was run by four British Columbians.

The four were Hal Allan McLeod, David John V Vaughan, Kenneth Robert McMordie and Dianne Sharon Rosiek.

In a ruling handed down this week, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) said they violated B.C. securities laws when they traded without being registered.

"They lied to [the investors] about the returns they were going to get, they lied to them about how their money was going to be spent and they used that money to enrich themselves,'' said Lang Evans, director of enforcement at the BCSC.

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The reality is that Manna was a Ponzi scheme. It used the investments of later investors to fund the promised returns to earlier investors, to pay commissions to the affiliates and consultants, to invest in an online gaming business, and to buy real estate in Costa Rica."

To make the scheme seem more legitimate, the investors were given debit cards to be used at ATM machines so that they could withdraw money from a secret account.

"The people who are in this business have no feelings,'' said Schaab.

After being recruited into the scheme, he agreed to attend meetings at a Surrey hotel. After hearing so many success stories he handed over a money order for US$21,000.

But now that money is gone, the commission is pushing for the maximum penalty of a $1 million fine each, and a lifetime trading ban in B.C.

But the four who have been found guilty of fraud will not be going to jail. In order for that to happen the RCMP would have to do separate investigation.

Because of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the evidence gathered by the BCSC would be considered 'self incriminating'. Still, the RCMP are looking into the case.

"What these people did was inexcusable,'' said Evans.

It's broken up families, and ruined friendships. Claude Richard lost most of his life savings. "That's pretty bad,'' he said.

Now Schaab has advice for others in the same situation.

"There are a lot of scams out here. I know that now. But one thing you should do is go to B.C. Securities Commission. If you have any questions about any investment, that is what they are there for," he said.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Norma Reid