BC

The British Columbia Securities Commission has permanently banned a man from the province's capital markets for an attempted fraud using the Craigslist website to find investors.

The provincial regulator has also fined Paul Stiles $35,000 as an administrative penalty.

A commission panel said Stiles promoted an investment in Velocity Entertainment between 2009 and 2012 that he claimed would provide returns ranging from 12 per cent in one year to 100 per cent within six months.

Stiles was the sole director of Velocity, which was dissolved in 2005 and never filed a prospectus.

Commission staff discovered advertisements in the financial services section of the Vancouver Craiglist website.

The panel said Stiles showed "contempt for our system of securities regulation" and that his conduct "shows that he has attempted fraud before and will continue to do so."