Photo: pixabay Hop BC’s securities regulator has brought serious charges against two BC men involved in the craft brewing industry. The BC Securities and Exchange Commission (BCSC) alleges that Alexander William Bridges and his company Fraser Valley Hop Farms Inc. (FVHF) defrauded 18 investors who invested over $1.8 million for a hop farm the company was supposedly developing. But the commission alleges Bridges and the company used about $500,000 of those funds for non-farm expenses and illegally distributed securities to 13 investors. Bridges, also known as Alex Blackwell, controlled the company’s bank accounts and solicited the investments between December 2016 and July 2018. Also implicated in alleged misconduct is the company’s marketing director and de facto director Shane Douglas Harder-Toews, who allegedly illegally distributed securities without filing a prospectus – an official document that provides details of an investment – and without an exemption. “FVHF and Bridges represented to investors, either directly or through Harder-Toews, that their funds would be used in the hop farm. Instead, they used approximately $500,000 of investor funds to pay Bridges, make cash withdrawals and pay other expenses unrelated to the hop farm,” the Nov. 7 hearing states. BCSC’s claims have not been proven. The commission requires respondents to appear at the BCSC offices on December 7, 2022 if they wish to be heard before a hearing is scheduled.
