The B.C. Securities Commission has issued fraud allegations against Elixir Technology Inc. and two of its directors, claiming the company raised $16 million from more than 100 investors while hiding catastrophic trading losses and a failing software business. A hearing has been scheduled, and the allegations remain unproven.
The B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) has released detailed allegations accusing a British Columbia corporation and two of its directors of orchestrating a $16-million investment fraud and violating multiple provisions of the provincial Securities Act.
According to the notice of hearing published by the BCSC, Elixir Technology Inc., previously known as Elixir Income Inc., along with founder William Peter McNarland and director Mang Hei Jaclyn Wu, raised approximately C$14.6 million and US$1 million from 113 investors between July 2020 and October 2022. The regulator alleges the company promoted itself as a profitable financial technology firm leasing proprietary software and using that software to trade securities.
The BCSC contends that these representations were false. Investigators allege that Elixir did not have a viable software-leasing operation and that nearly all of its revenue came from trading activities. Those activities suffered catastrophic losses during the COVID-19 market crash in early 2020 and failed to recover afterward. By the end of that year, the company recorded negative $5.5 million in revenue, and its liabilities nearly doubled its assets.
Despite these losses, Elixir allegedly continued marketing its securities by promising annual interest and dividend payments of between six and 11.5 per cent, while failing to disclose its true financial condition to investors. McNarland, as the controlling mind of the company, is accused of authorizing or allowing the alleged fraud. Wu is alleged to have contributed by recommending Elixir’s securities and referring investors while aware of the company’s financial state.
The regulator also alleges that Elixir made illegal distributions of securities to 13 investors who did not qualify for an exemption from the requirement for a prospectus. Even if those distributions were not fraudulent, the BCSC says they were unlawful. Additionally, the commission alleges that Wu made false or misleading statements during interviews with investigators in November 2024.
A meeting has been scheduled for December 16 at the BCSC’s Vancouver office for the parties to respond before a formal hearing is convened. The allegations have not been proven, and the respondents are entitled to be heard.
