A class action suit has been launched in the BC Supreme Court over an alleged Ponzi scheme which, court documents allege, claimed an affiliation with beverage distributor Mark Anthony Group to dupe investors into buying into the scheme.
Representative plaintiffs Lawrence Brian Jer and Jun Jer filed suit March 2 against Rashida Samji, Rashida Samji Notary Corp., Samji & Assoc. Holdings Inc., Arvindbhai Bakorbhai Patel (aka Arvin Patel), Coast Capital Savings Credit Union and Coast Capital Insurance Services Ltd.
The suit alleges that Samji, a member of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, promoted an investment opportunity referred to as the “Mark Anthony Investment.”
The statement of claim alleges: “The money received by Samji was purportedly to be invested in a real estate and import-export business involving the Mark Anthony Group, a reputable firm in the beverage industry, which owns the Mission Hill Winery in Kelowna.”
However, the suit alleges, the investment scheme had no affiliation with the actual Mark Anthony Group and was, the plaintiffs contend, a Ponzi scheme.
The plaintiffs claim that they learned of the investment through Coast Capital financial planner Patel, who, the plaintiffs state, was the plaintiffs’ financial planner for about 17 years.
The suit claims that “Patel never took any reasonable or proper steps to evaluate or investigate the merit or legitimacy of the ‘Mark Anthony Investment’ scheme being promoted by Samji.”
The plaintiffs claim to have invested $210,000 in the scheme, and are seeking:
- a declaration that Samji received the funds as a trustee and had an obligation to deposit those funds into a trust account and not pay them out;
- a declaration that Samji breached her duties as trustee by failing to deposit the funds invested by the plaintiffs and class members in the “Mark Anthony Investment” into a trust account, and by paying those funds out without specific direction from the plaintiffs and class members;
- a declaration that Samji Holdings acted in knowing assistance of breach of trust by facilitating the disbursements of funds invested by the plaintiffs and class members;
- an accounting and restitution to the plaintiffs and class members of all funds received by Samji and Samji Holdings;
- a declaration that Samji obtained the plaintiffs’ and class members’ funds through fraud;
- a declaration that Patel owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs and other class members he introduced to the investment scheme;
- a declaration that Patel breached his duty of care;
- a declaration that Coast Capital is vicariously liable for the acts of Patel;
- damages for negligence from Coast Capital and Patel; and
- damages for fraud from Samji and Samji Holdings.
None of these allegations has been proven in court.
