Alberta fraudster reprimanded for using investors’ money to buy house in Vernon

An Alberta man has been ordered to pay roughly half a million dollars after he was found to have fraudulently used close t0 $1 million of investors’ money to buy a house in Vernon.

Logan Keith Shaw, 43, defrauded six investors beginning in 2012, according to a July 14 decision by the Alberta Securities Commission. After setting up a company he raised $940,000 from the investors, telling them the money would be used for a business in Mexico involving point-of-sale devices installed in taxi cabs.

Instead, he used $807,000 of the money to buy a house in Vernon for himself and his partner.

“Shaw’s serious misconduct showed that he should never again be in a position of raising money from investors,” the Securities Commission said in its decision.

One of the investors sued Shaw and the court ordered that the Vernon home be sold, allowing the investor to recover their $500,000 investment. According to the decision, Shaw therefore argued that the investor “did not experience real harm” and on this basis called for a more lenient ruling from the Securities Commission.

However, the Securities Commission dismissed this argument, saying it did not consider it to be a mitigating factor.

At one point in the decision, Shaw appears to blame the regulator for “threatening” him during the investigation by demanding records and other information, while also encouraging the investors to take legal action against him to recoup their losses.

“None of this was a convincing argument or a mitigating factor,” the Securities Commission said.

The Securities Commission said Shaw, who represented himself in the matter, filed a 960-page statement in his defence, but added his submissions were “confusing.”

The Securities Commission ultimately prohibited Shaw from ever trading or purchasing any security or derivative. He is also banned from engaging in investor relations activities or becoming a registrant, investment fund manager or promoter. Shaw was ordered to pay a total of $562,780, which includes a fine of $150,000, costs totalling $129,000, as well as $283,780 he obtained in the fraud.

“Shaw, and others who may be tempted to emulate his misconduct, need to know that they will not benefit from such misconduct,” the Securities Commission said.

Brendan Shykora

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