A Nanaimo-based timeshare company has been ordered to answer charges that it illegally sold securities.
The British Columbia Securities Commission has called a notice of hearing for the directors of Aviawest Resorts Inc., which the BCSC alleges sold $12.7 million worth of securities without having filed a prospectus.
The sale of securities to 214 investors took place between December 2006 and June 2011. The BCSC says the company and its directors – Rob DiCastri, Andrew Pearson, James Pearson, Lawrence Pearson, and Susan Pearson – contravened securities laws.
It also alleges the company claimed that 173 of the investors bought $9.2 million worth of shares under the "family, friends and business associates" exemption. The BCSC says the exemptions were not legitimate.
The BCSC also alleges that between February 2010 and April 2011, Zulak Financial Group Ltd., also based in Nanaimo, and its directors, Karla Ann Davis and Melvin Zulak, marketed Aviawest securities to 21 of their life insurance clients, who invested approximately $1.8 million.
In doing so, the BCSC says directors for both Aviawest and Zulak Financial contravened securities laws.
The allegations have not been proven. An initial hearing has been set for September 18.
