Two Greater Victoria men have been charged with contravening B.C.'s Securities Act in 2008 and 2009 in connection with real estate investments.
Daniel Mark Jeremy Barton, 29, of Victoria, and Gregory Adam William Gillespie, 36, of Saanich, were arrested Tuesday at their homes by the B.C.
Securities Commission's criminal investigations team, with Saanich police present. Saanich police and West Shore RCMP assisted in the investigation, the commission said in a statement Wednesday.
Barton and Gillespie are charged with distributing the securities of Oasis Properties without registering as a dealer or adviser and without an applicable exemption between March 1, 2008, and Oct. 31, 2009.
They are also charged with distributing the securities of Oasis Properties without filing a preliminary prospectus or prospectus without an applicable exemption between March 1, 2008, and Oct. 31, 2009, court documents state.
They appeared in Victoria provincial court Tuesday and were released on $5,000 bail. Their next court appearance is Sept. 19.
A third man is also charged with distributing the securities of Oasis Properties without registering as a dealer or adviser and without an applicable exemption between March 1, 2008 and Oct. 31, 2009. He has not yet appeared in court.
Under the securities act, maximum penalties are $1 million per offence or three years per offence.
Registration of advisers and providing investors with a prospectus showing the business plan and audited financial statements are "extremely important when it comes to investor protection," said Richard Gilhooley, commission spokesman.
"The BCSC is alleging that in 2008 and 2009, Barton and Gillespie distributed securities related to a purported real estate investment centred on 1250604 Alberta Ltd., an Alberta company controlled by Barton and doing business as both Oasis Properties and Caprice Investments. It is further alleged that Barton and Gillespie actively solicited investments in Oasis/Caprice without being registered, filing a prospectus or applying for exemptions," the commission's statement said.
The commission is an independent agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within this province.
A 2009 statement from Oasis said it was one of the "fastest-growing premier real estate investment companies in today's marketplace."
In 2008, Barton, then chief executive of Oasis, was named young entrepreneur of the year by the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
Barton was proprietor and president of Oasis from August 2005 to December 2009, managing a 35-person team in the funding, purchase, upkeep and leasing of 130 rental units and properties in B.C. and Alberta., his LinkedIn page states.
Gillespie's LinkedIn page describes him as a site acquisition specialist at Insite Solutions, a company with main offices in Calgary, specializing in land acquisition and project management.
Between June 2006 and December 2009, he was chief operating officer for Oasis, his LinkedIn profile said.
Barton and Gillespie could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
