B.C. Securities Commission says B.C. man targeted seniors in $65 million fraud

VANCOUVER – The British Columbia Securities Commission has found a Vancouver Island man committed a $65-million fraud on almost 500 clients, many of them senior citizens.

A commission panel found between June 2007 and December 2010 David Michael Michaels illegally advised clients to sell their stocks, bonds and mutual funds to purchase high-risk exempt market securities.

The panel heard Michaels paid $2,000 to conduct weekly infomercials, entitled Creating Wealth with David Michaels, on CFAX 1070 radio in Victoria, drawing about 20,000 listeners a week.

The commission says Michaels — who claimed repeatedly on his shows he loved helping seniors make money — actually preyed on his clients by frightening them into leaving safe capital markets for far riskier investments.

The panel heard Michaels was paid $5.8 million in fees and commissions for his sales of exempt market securities.

The panel will hear submissions on sanctions at a later time.