BCSC Charges Blockchain Technology Investment Company BLOK for Misrepresentation

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) alleges that a Vancouver-based blockchain technology investment company and three of its officers made a misrepresentation about the sales of its shares.

BLOK Technologies Inc. announced in a news release in 2018 that it had raised approximately $5.4 million through a private placement. BLOK did not disclose that it had already spent or owed approximately $4.4 million on consulting fees, and would therefore only retain approximately $950,000 – less than 18 per cent of the amount raised.

The BCSC alleges that BLOK, which traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, made a statement to investors that it knew, or ought to have reasonably known, was a misrepresentation to investors and violated the Securities Act.

Robert Earle Dawson, BLOK's president and CEO; James Joseph Hyland, its vice-president and director; and David Malcolm Alexander, its chief financial officer, are alleged to have authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the company's misrepresentation and therefore also violated the Act.