A BC man who owes more than $ 7 million in fines to the province’s financial market regulator has become the first person to face the loss of his driver’s license due to unpaid fines related to securities fraud.
The executive director of the BC Securities Commission last year notified the ICBC that it should not issue or renew a driver’s license to Paul Oei, who in 2017 committed 63 acts of fraud against investors by embezzling your money.
Under the 2017 decision, Oei and the companies it controlled diverted a total of just over $ 5 million from investors ’money out of the purposes for which they had told investors it would be used.
He was ordered to pay approximately $ 3.1 million, which is the amount he had fraudulently obtained, minus approximately $ 2 million that had been reimbursed to investors, plus an administrative penalty of $ 4.5 million in BCSC.
The commission said in a press release on Friday that Oei has not yet paid any part of the approximately $ 7.6 million it owes.
Oei asked the commission for a review of the executive director’s decision to block his driver’s license. Following a hearing, a BCSC court announced on Friday that it had decided to uphold the decision.
The group noted that this was the first time it had been asked to review this decision since changes to the Provincial Securities Act that allowed the BCSC to block license renewals went into effect last year.
In an attempt to overturn the executive director’s decision, Oei argued that he needed a driver’s license in order to serve as an emergency driver for his elderly father. He also argued that the loss of his license would limit his ability to get a better job and therefore his ability to pay his fines.
Oei told the panel that he cannot pay anything to the commission at this time and presented T4 sheets showing revenues of approximately $ 7,000 in 2020 and $ 12,400 last year. He also referred the panel to a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada overturning a similar law in Alberta and questioning whether the BCSC really has the authority to ban him from maintaining his driver’s license.
On the issue of legality, the panel rejected Oei’s argument, noting that Alberta law included a provision that would have maintained the province’s right to withhold driver’s licenses even if the debts were they would have settled in a federal bankruptcy proceeding. This provision, according to the panel, was what led the federal court to overturn the Alberta law.
BC law does not contain this provision.
As for Oei’s other arguments, the panel agreed with the chief executive that the inconvenience “is not (a) sufficient reason not to issue the notice to ICBC” preventing Oei from receiving a license.
“The drawbacks are the expected result of the statutory provisions,” the panel wrote, summing up the executive director’s argument.
“The purpose of these provisions is to provide the Executive Director with a mechanism for assistance in financial collections. It is in the public interest to make these provisions effective.”
The panel also noted that Oei would not have to pay the money he owed in full to restore his driving privileges. The Securities Act allows the Executive Director to terminate an order with the ICBC at its discretion after signing a payment agreement with a person who owes money to the BCSC.
“The applicant has not paid any of the very significant amounts that are outstanding or has made any proposed payment plan,” the panel wrote.
“We note that the applicant continues to show no remorse or responsibility for his role in the fraud and misappropriation in this matter and, through his own actions and words, makes it clear that he has not accepted the original conclusions and decision of the court. “
Oei told the panel that he currently has no car. During the time he was involved in fundraising from investors, Oei drove a Bentley, according to the commission’s original decision against him.