A Vancouver man who received a lifetime securities trading ban in 2016 has now been sentenced to three years in prison.
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Ayaz Dhanani, 38, was handed a 23-month sentence in October, and another 13-month sentence Thursday, November 22. He was also ordered to pay $194,568 in restitution to five victims of fraud, according to the BC Securities Commission (BCSC), which conducted an investigation that led to the charges.
In 2014, Dhanani was hauled before the BCSC panel for defrauding a complete stranger of $55,000. In that case, he approached a stranger in a bank and managed to convinced the man to give him $55,000 to invest in a mining company he claimed was about to go public. The money went into a bank accounts held by Dhanani’s parents. It was just one of a number of frauds that he was eventually convicted of committing.
In April 2014, the registrar of mortgage brokers of B.C. issued a cease and desist order to Dhanani because he was holding himself out as a mortgage broker without being registered, according to the BCSC.
As a result of the BCSC investigation, Dhanani recently pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud over $5,000 and of breaching a securities trading ban. In August, Dhanani pleaded guilty to defrauding three victims of $153,800. In October, he pleaded guilty to another fraud charge.
“Dhanani preyed upon people’s lack of knowledge about investments,” said BCSC executive director Peter Brady. “He made promises about businesses or opportunities that simply did not exist.”
Dhanani went by several aliases: Alex Dhanani, Azim Virani, Michael Lee, Alex Nebris, Paul Dhanani, Samuel Ramos and Rahim Jiwa.
