A Vancouver man has reached a settlement with the B.C. Securities Commission, promising to repay $900,000 to a woman he convinced to invest $1.75 million of mortgage proceeds only to use the money for his group of companies.
Geoffrey Rajay Sidhu will also pay a $50,000 fine to the commission for trading in securities without being registered.
The settlement agreement, published by the commission Sept. 13, states Sidhu met the investor in November 2015 and convinced her to invest $1.75 million of mortgage proceeds in Sidhu’s father’s company Bracetek, which was in the business of developing, manufacturing and selling braces used in construction.
However, Bracetek paid $900,000 of the investor’s funds to companies controlled by Sidhu for licensing agreements between these companies, the settlement says. All in all, Bracetek distributed $1.75 million of its securities to the investor without filing a prospectus — a formal document providing details of an investment — when a prospectus exemption was not available.
Sidhu faced a citation in May 2021; however, he has since agreed to the transgressions against the B.C. Securities Act and thus avoided a hearing, which the commission took under consideration.
The commission had placed a lien on Sidhu’s home and states the charge will be lifted once the $900,000 is paid back.
“Sidhu is also prohibited from trading or purchasing securities or derivatives unrelated to his own accounts for a period of seven and a half years, and from becoming or acting as director or officer of any issuer or registrant, other than for six named issuers that he currently oversees,” stated the agreement.
It’s unclear what companies Sidhu currently oversees; a search on Stockwatch database shows none.
The settlement agreement does not specify the relationship between Sidhu and the investor.
The commission has touted improved means of collecting fines from sanctioned individuals, including applying to block the renewal of drivers’ licences.
