VANCOUVER — The Law Society of B.C. has disbarred a Langley lawyer over an investment scheme the society says exposed the public to considerable harm and tainted the legal profession.
The society says Henry Alexander McCandless, also known as Sandy, is alleged to have convinced investors their money was secure — even though he knew the B.C. Securities Commission had issued a cease trading order.
The society claimed that in the course of representing International Fiduciary Corp., McCandless knew of an alleged Ponzi scheme that offered investors a large rate of return.
It also said while U.S. security regulators were proceeding against the investment company in the United States, McCandless didn’t disclose the allegations to investors in Canada.
In a written decision, the society said even though McCandless had been warned by two government security regulators that they were investigating the fraud scheme, he didn’t warn investors.
On top of losing license to practice law, he’s been told to pay the society $47,000 in legal fees.