A man with a history of convictions for fraud is now facing charges in Prince George.
Raymond Patrick Shaw, 49, appeared in Prince George provincial court Tuesday from William Head prison on Vancouver Island, where he is currently serving a sentence, to hear 13 charges against him under the B.C. Securities Act.
They include three counts each of unlawfully trading in securities, distributing securities, acting as an advisor and trading in securities while bound by an order from the securities commission.
Crown is alleging the offences were committed in Vanderhoof between November 2012 and August 2014 and in Parksville, Victoria and Vanderhoof between May 2011 and January 2012. Three people were named as complainants when the charges were read out Tuesday.
One count of failing to comply with an order from the B.C. Securities Commission between August 2007 and August 2014 was also read into the record.
In July, Shaw was sentenced to four years for defrauding a Kelowna family of about $250,000.
According to a Global News report at the time, the family gave the money to Shaw after responding to an advertisement for an investment opportunity promising quick and significant returns. Instead, Shaw and an accomplice spent the money on themselves.
At the time, he was on probation after being convicted in 2007 for his role in a fraudulent investment scheme out of Victoria where the victims lost almost $2 million.
In that case, the Crown alleged Shaw and another accomplice convinced people to "invest" their money with a story of a high-spending heir to a fortune in the millions. They said an aunt living in California would not release the estate until she was satisfied the heir's debts had been cleared.
Once the heir had the estate, Shaw told the investors they would be paid back, with interest rates that went, on occasion, as high as 300 per cent. Trouble was, the heir was fictional.
On Tuesday, Shaw told the court he will be released on day parole on Feb. 17 when he will begin living in a halfway house in Victoria and can begin the process of finding a lawyer at that time.
During the hearing, Shaw also agreed to conditions related to the new charges he is facing, including refraining from engaging in any investor-relation activities. His next appearance is scheduled for March 10 in Prince George.
- with files from Victoria Times-Colonist
