The Alberta Securities Commission has determined that between 2000 and 2004, Topsis Investments Canada Inc., its officers Larry and Forbes McLeod and a sales agent, Delmer Watt, engaged in illegal trades and distributions and made misrepresentations, in contravention of the Alberta Securities Act.
The ASC panel found that the respondents “induced investors to hand over money — often in relatively significant amounts — to what one investor witness rightly characterized as a scam.”
All of the investors who appeared before the panel were from Central Alberta, generally from the Red Deer and Sylvan Lake vicinity.
Investors testified that they were led to believe that:
- Topsis was contracted to provide a large number of pre-fabricated homes (the number 167,801 was mentioned) in Mexico and other Latin American countries;
- there was a humanitarian aspect to the project;
- investors would earn high returns over a short time period; and;
- the investments were safe.
To date, none of the investor witnesses — apart from one whose investment was bought out by fellow investors — has received a return on, or of, their investment.
The hearing will resume at a later date to consider what, if any, sanctions are to be imposed regarding this misconduct.