The B.C. Securities Commission is accusing a former Burnaby insurance agent and his associate of pressuring an investor into lying to one of its investigators.
Hunter Wei-Shun Wang was a licensed insurance broker employed by a company, and Jing “Janet” Zhang was that company’s marketing director, according to a notice of hearing from the B.C. Securities Commission.
On March 29, 2014, the Burnaby pair convinced a B.C. man to invest $25,000 in the company they worked for, the commission says.
Three days later, however, the investor had regrets and asked for his money back.
While he was waiting for a response, his mother called the commission to complain about the investment.
The commission alleges that – after its staff contacted Wang to investigate the mother’s complaint – Wang and Zhang met with the investor and his mother and told them the investment would only be refunded if the investor lied to the commission about it.
“Wang and Zhang offered to refund the investor’s money if he lied to commission staff about his investment by stating that his mother was confused when she complained to commission staff, as she was thinking about a different investment when, in fact, he had no complaints about his investment in the company,” states the commission’s notice. “The investor then phoned commission staff in front of Wang and Zhang and provided the false information they had rehearsed.”
The investor and his mother then met Zhang at her personal bank branch, where she took out $25,000 and gave it to the investor to refund his investment.
A few weeks later, the company reimbursed Zhang for the payment.
The commission wouldn’t specify which company Wang and Zhang worked for, saying only there is “no indication that the company involved is relevant to the allegations.”
The commission also wouldn’t comment on how it found out about the lies Wang and Zhang allegedly coached the investor to tell.
“We cannot provide evidence before it is filed at the hearing, as that may jeopardize the hearing,” read an emailed statement.
The commission will make its case against Wang and Zhang in November in front of an administrative panel that will determine whether Wang and Zhang’s actions were an obstruction of justice or abusive to the capital markets.
