The Supreme Court of British Columbia has approved a plan for returning millions dollars to investors who lost money in the Bossteam E-Commerce Inc. fraud.
The B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) announced on Friday that the court approved a distribution plan proposed by the company’s receiver, Grant Thornton Ltd., which would see approximately US$3.5 million returned to 451 investors.
In 2014, a BCSC hearing panel found that Bossteam, along with Yan Zhu (a.k.a. Rachel Zhu) and Guan Qiang Zhang, “committed fraud, illegally distributed securities, and withheld information from BCSC investigators.”
Last year, the BCSC sought court approval to appoint a receiver to administer a claims process for funds the regulator had frozen.
“The BCSC always looks for opportunities to return money to victims of securities misconduct so it was important for us to apply to have a receiver appointed to run a claims process in this complex matter,” said Doug Muir, director of enforcement at the BCSC, in a statement. “Having now obtained the court’s approval, the receiver can return a substantial amount of money to many investors who suffered losses because of the misconduct in this case.”
The BCSC reports that the court also granted its application to pay interest to investors, and to assess claims that were filed after the deadline to apply for restitution in the case.