A panel of the British Columbia Securities Commission has imposed an administrative penalty of $33 million against Rashida Samji for committing a $100 million fraud on at least 200 investors in its recent sanction decision. The scheme which the panel determined was a Ponzi scheme earned her the nickname the ‘magic lady’. The panel also ordered that Samji be permanently banned from participating in B.C.’s capital markets and ordered disgorgement of aproximately $10.8 million. This was the difference between the monies deposited by the investors pursuant to the fraud and the monies paid out to them.
The panel found that at the core of the scheme was Samji’s promise to investors that she would hold investors’ money in trust and that it would only be used to secure letters of comfort for the financing of a British Columbia winery. The reality was that none of the investors’ funds were used to invest in a winery and investors’ funds were simply used to pay other investors and fund Samji’s lavish lifestyle.
We first reported on this case back in November 2013 when the ‘magic lady’ was arrested after an investigation by RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit and Vancouver Police. You can read more about how to avoid a Ponzi Scheme here.