BG Wealth Group founder allegedly kept trading securities after a ban meant to protect investors
The founder of a Brampton, Ontario, wealth firm allegedly defrauded four investors of about $908,000, then defied a trading ban imposed to protect investors.
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has laid allegations of fraud and repeated breaches of a temporary cease trade order (TCTO) against Craig Dunkerley and several entities connected to BG Wealth Group.
Between November 2023 and August 2024, the commission alleges, Dunkerley raised capital through fraud by misrepresenting BG Wealth Group's financial condition and failing to disclose significant cash flow issues.
After the OSC imposed the TCTO, Dunkerley and two other respondents allegedly continued trading securities and breached the order 20 times.
The regulator alleges the conduct harmed investors and eroded confidence in Ontario's capital markets.
None of the allegations has been proven.
Dunkerley is chief executive officer and founding partner of BG Wealth Group Inc, according to his LinkedIn profile, where he says he founded the company in 2019 and describes a mission to help people "from all walks of life become millionaires."
The profile also lists him as an international speaker and best-selling author, and names two other businesses he says he runs, BG Accounting Solutions Inc and BG Investment and Property Holdings Inc.
Before BG Wealth Group, Dunkerley founded Blackthorn Group in 2002 and led it until 2019, according to the same profile, which lists earlier work as a senior buyer at Hudson's Bay Company from 1984 to 2002.
The OSC urged investors to confirm the registration of anyone offering an investment opportunity and to review the investor resources on its website.
