Vancouver lawyer banned from investment markets for life also barred from practising law

Scales of justice. (Shutterstock)

A Vancouver lawyer who was banned from the financial markets by B.C.'s securities regulator earlier this year has agreed to an eight-year ban on practising law in the province.

Faiyaz A. Dean has already been prohibited from practising since 2020, meaning his total ban will be 12 years, according to the Law Society of B.C.

The B.C. Securities Commission issued Dean's lifetime market ban earlier this year in response to a default judgment against him in the United States.

That country's Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of participating in a "fraudulent scheme to effect illegal, unregistered sales of and manipulate the market for shares of" a company called Biozoom Inc. The fraud generated approximately US$34 million in illicit proceeds, according to the BCSC's decision. 

Dean has appealed the BCSC ruling, according to a news release from the law society announcing the practice ban Friday.

According to the law society, Dean agreed not to practise law for an additional eight years in a proposal submitted in response to a law society misconduct citation against him. 

In the proposal, Dean admitted to a variety of misconduct, including "using his trust account to receive and disburse funds on behalf of several clients without providing substantial legal services or inquiring about the circumstances of the transactions."

He also admitted to "engaging in activities that he ought to have known assisted in or encouraged dishonesty, crime or fraud," according to the law society.

As a result of the agreement, Dean is banned from practising law throughout Canada, and he cannot apply to practise anywhere else in the world unless he notifies the law society first.

If he applies for reinstatement after the ban expires, Dean must participate in a credentials hearing and demonstrate he is "of good character and fitness to practise law."

"The law society recognizes that misconduct by lawyers that facilitates, or has the potential to facilitate, securities fraud poses significant risks to the public, and takes such matters very seriously," the organization said in its release.

"The law society appreciates the co-operation of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in this investigation."