VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A seven-figure penalty and a lifetime ban from the markets have been given to a BC man who defrauded investors in Germany and Switzerland.

The BC Securities Commission says Michael Robert Shantz lied to investors when he said their money would be used to trade gold futures or foreign currencies. The regulator says Shantz got $1.5 million from the European investors, wired $1.2 million of it to Spanish bank accounts for “unknown purposes” and used $210,000 for himself.

A BCSC panel also found that he forged account statements to make the scheme look profitable.

Shantz has been ordered to pay the $1.5 million from investors and a $630,000 fine.