A 70-year-old Victoria man has received a two-year conditional jail sentence and been ordered to pay restitution to five victims after using clients’ investment funds for his own personal expenses and cash withdrawals.
Randolph Michael Rochefort pleaded guilty Monday in Victoria provincial court to four counts of theft over $5,000. In exchange for his pleas, Rochefort will be able to serve his jail sentence in the community. He was also ordered to pay $77,000 in restitution to five victims.
Court heard that Rochefort was a salesperson for a real estate investment company, raising funds for a 160-acre land development in Alberta. His agreement with the company said he was entitled to keep 10 per cent of the proceeds from his sales of the real estate company’s securities. He brokered sales of these securities on behalf of several investors.
From 2013 to 2016, Rochefort brokered several transactions for investors who wanted to make additional investments in the real estate development company. Rochefort asked these investors to forward their funds to Reserve Cascadia Tours Limited, a B.C. company associated with his business activities.
The investors believed the funds would be forwarded to the real estate development company for investment. Instead, Rochefort used some of them for personal expenses and cash withdrawals.
The charges against Rochefort resulted from an investigation by the B.C. Securities Commission’s criminal investigations branch.
The commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in B.C. through the administration of the Securities Act.
