Victoria man pleads guilty to misappropriating investors’ funds, must pay victims $77,000

A Victoria man has pleaded guilty to misappropriating investors’ funds to pay for his own personal expenses and cash withdrawals.

Randolph Michael Rochefort, 70, pleaded guilty on November 7 in B.C. Provincial Court in Victoria to four counts of theft over $5,000. As part of his plea, he must serve a conditional sentence of nearly two years and must pay approximately $77,000 in restitution to five victims.

The charges against Rochefort resulted from an investigation by the B.C. Securities Commission’s Criminal Investigations Branch.

Starting in 2008, Rochefort worked as a salesperson for a real estate investment company raising funds for a 160-acre land development in Alberta. As part of his agreement with the company, he was entitled to keep 10 per cent of the proceeds from his sales of the company’s securities. Rochefort brokered sales of these securities on behalf of several investors.

From 2013 to 2016, Rochefort brokered several transactions for existing investors who wanted to make additional investments in the real estate development company. Rochefort had these investors forward their funds to Reserve Cascadia Tours Limited, a B.C. company associated with Rochefort’s various business activities. Investors understood that these funds would then be forwarded to the real estate development company for investment.

Instead of forwarding all of the investors’ funds as promised, Rochefort used some of them for personal expenses and cash withdrawals.

Rochefort’s conditional sentence will be served under house arrest and a curfew.