The British Columbia Securities Commission has settled with a woman who helped a Victoria-based company raise approximately $312,000 from investors for an investment that would purportedly pay them a percentage of the proceeds from a shipwreck salvage operation.

In the BCSC settlement agreement, Nola Wanda Beecroft, 55, admitted she facilitated the distributions of Blue Lighthouse Ltd. (BLL) to investors through its Victoria-based agent, MCL Ventures Inc. between March 2009 to April 2010

The investment in BLL, a Northern Ireland company, purportedly entitled investors to receive a percentage of the proceeds from salvage operations conducted on World War I and II shipwrecks. Beecroft and her family invested $95,000 in BLL, and have not recovered any money on their investment.

Beecroft admitted that she introduced 11 investors to MCL who collectively invested $169,000 in BLL securities, and signed 16 investment warrant agreements on behalf of MCL. Beecroft, a Victoria resident, also received approximately $41,000 for doing research for BLL.

Her conduct violated B.C. securities laws because there was no offering memorandum or prospectus filed with the BCSC for BLL securities, and no exemptions applied to the distributions to the investors. Furthermore, she was not registered in any capacity under B.C. securities laws.

Under an order from the BCSC executive director, Beecroft is prohibited, with limited exceptions, from trading or purchasing securities, and from becoming or acting as a director of any issuer for five years. She is also prohibited from acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with activities in the securities market or engaging in investor relations for the same period.

IE