B.C. company defrauded investors, used proceeds to pay for luxury goods, regulator alleges

A Rolex watch is seen in this image from Shutterstock.com.

B.C.’s financial markets regulator is alleging fraud by a man and a company based in the province.

George Henry Tyrer, the owner of For the People FX Inc., allegedly raised roughly $2.6 million from investors with the promise that the funds would be used for foreign exchange trading, according to the B.C. Securities Commission.

Instead, the commission alleges, Tyrer and the company diverted almost three-quarters of the money to non-trading purposes, including distributing more than $660,000 to other investors “on the false premise that they were returns from trading profit” and using more than $175,000 to pay off Tyrer’s personal credit cards and other credit cards.

Charges on the cards allegedly involved travel, restaurants and retail, with some notable expenses including $69,245 for a Rolex watch, $31,750 in rent on Tyrer’s home, $9,345 on personal training and yoga, and $3,000 on a tattoo.

The BCSC’s allegations against Tyrer and For the People FX have not been proven.

The fraud allegedly occurred between January 2022 and May 2024, according to the BCSC’s notice on the matter.

The $2.6 million was raised from 85 investors. The company is also accused of distributing securities to 48 investors without filing a prospectus or being exempt from the prospectus requirement.

The BCSC alleges Tyrer is responsible for the company’s misconduct because he controlled For the People FX and authorized, permitted or acquiesced to its fraud and illegal distributions.

According to the BCSC’s document, For the People FX did engage in some foreign exchange trading during the relevant period, but the company’s communications to investors “grossly overstated” the extent and success of its trading activity.

Those communications included guarantees and asserting “up to 100 per cent return on investment,” the BCSC alleges.

“Between mid to late 2023 and March 2025, the respondents communicated false, inaccurate, or misleading information to investors about the security or availability of their investment funds,” the BCSC’s notice reads.

These communications included claiming that funds could not be paid out as requested because For the People FX’s bank account had been frozen; claiming that the BCSC had frozen the company’s funds, but those funds “existed or were safe”; and providing an investor with a statement that didn’t accurately reflect the actual funds present in the investor’s account, according to the notice.

Tyrer and his company—or a lawyer representing them—must appear at the commission’s offices on Aug. 18 if they wish to respond to the allegations before a hearing is scheduled on the matter.