Victoria man who stole from investors sentenced to house arrest, must pay $77K in restitution

The Victoria provincial courthouse as seen on November 3, 2021. (CTV News)

A Victoria man has been handed a two-year conditional jail sentence and was ordered to pay $77,000 in restitution to five victims after he took money from investors for his own personal use.

Randolph Michael Rochefort, 70, pleaded guilty in provincial court Monday to four counts of theft over $5,000, according to a release from the British Columbia Securities Commission.

In exchange for his guilty plea, Rochefort will be allowed to serve his sentence in the community under house arrest.

Rochefort misappropriated funds to cover personal expenses and cash withdrawals, according to an investigation by the commission's criminal investigations branch.

Since 2008, Rochefort worked as a salesperson for a real estate investment company that was raising funds for a 160-acre land development in Alberta. According to the securities commission, he was entitled to keep 10 per cent of the proceeds from his sales.

Between 2013 and 2016, he brokered several transactions from existing investors looking to increase their stakes in the real estate development.

The commission says Rochefort had these investors direct their funds to Reserve Cascadia Tours Limited, a B.C. company associated with Rochefort’s various business activities.

The investors believed their funds would then be forwarded to the development company, however Rochefort instead used some of the funds for his personal use, according to the securities commission.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in the province.