Two Richmond companies are facing penalties after being found to have acted illegally in the financial market.
A British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) panel determined that the companies - Pegasus Pharmaceuticals Group and Careseng Cancer Institute – and Winter Huang (also known as Dong Huang) illegally distributed securities.
Huang, according to the BCSC, was the president and director of Pegasus which, according to its promotional materials, is a high-tech biopharmaceutical company. He was also the director of Careseng, a former company that shared an office with Pegasus.
The panel found that, between 2010 and 2012, Pegasus distributed more than 1,400 bonds totaling approximately $45 million (U.S.) to investors in Taiwan.
During that time, Careseng guaranteed repayment of the principal of 447 bonds, totaling approximately $12.8 million (U.S.).
The panel found that by providing guarantees, Careseng had participated in the distribution of those bonds.
The securities, added the BCSC, were all issued without a prospectus, which is a formal document that explains the details of an investment and the risks involved.
Neither the companies nor the investors qualified for an exemption from the prospectus requirement under the Securities Act.
As a result, the panel concluded that Huang, Pegasus and Careseng illegally distributed securities.
However, the panel also found that the BCSC’s executive director failed to prove allegations that Huang and Pegasus committed fraud.
The panel will now consider imposing sanctions on Huang, Pegasus and Careseng.
