Fraud accused faces new charges
Surrey man denied bail after being charged with violating Securities Act
A Surrey man, free while awaiting trial on dozens of criminal fraud charges in connection with allegedly bogus real estate investment companies, is now in jail after being arrested this week on new charges.
Rui (Roy) Figueiredo was arrested Tuesday on three counts of violating the Securities Act, accused of failing to comply with an order issued last year by the B.C. Securities Commission.
Figueiredo, who appeared before a judge Wednesday in Port Coquitlam’s provincial court, was denied bail and remains in custody, said Crown counsel Jessica Patterson.
Figueiredo is accused of trading securities in violation of a 2016 Securities Commission order issued following an investigation into companies he ran which purported to provide real estate investment opportunities.
In a July 2016 decision, the Commission found Figueiredo enriched himself at his investors’ expense, engaging in “an egregious form of fraud.”
He is alleged to have breached the order by acting as the director and officer of an issuer or registrant, 1092580 B.C. Ltd., and trading shares in the company, between October and December 2016.
Figueiredo is also facing 34 criminal charges, including 33 counts of fraud over $5,000 and a count of forgery.
None of the criminal allegations have been tested in court, nor have the allegations of Securities Act violations sworn this month.
The 33 alleged fraud incidents in the indictment range from 2008 to 2012. During that time, Figueiredo tried to promote himself and create a profile in the local real estate industry. In his role as CEO and president of Pare Realty, Figueiredo appeared as a sponsor, presenter and speaker at the 2011 InvestorForum, “a glitz-filled ceremony in Vancouver, the highlight of a weekend real estate trade show packed with powerful seminars delivered by industry heavy hitters,” Canadian Real Estate Magazine reported in November 2011.
The magazine reported “Figueiredo and his team offer immediate cash-flowing opportunities to investors through a database of pre-screened and pre-qualified lease-to-own buyers, ready to go now with above-average down payments,” and quoted Figueiredo saying: “The exposure from the InvestorForum that we experienced was paramount for the launch of a stellar up-and-coming year for Pare Realty 2012.”
The 40 people named as alleged victims in the criminal indictment were investors who lost a combined estimated total of more than $2.2 million, said Const. Vlad Jancarek from the Surrey RCMP’s Economic Crime Unit.
“This was a pretty massive case,” Jancarek said.
Figueiredo is scheduled to appear June 28 in provincial court.