THE British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has reached a settlement agreement with a B.C. man and his company for unregistered activity and making a false or misleading statement.

Narinder Paul Singh Bains owns a controlling interest in Firethorn Partners LLC., a wealth management company incorporated in Delaware that is based in B.C.

In 2018 and 2019, Bains and Firethorn held themselves out as being in the business of advising clients, and Bains advised one client, a U.S. resident, during that time. Bains was registered as an advisor in the U.S., but neither he nor Firethorn were registered in B.C.

Bains, who had previously been registered in B.C., applied to the BCSC for registration in November 2018, but did not include several details on the form, including his ownership of Firethorn and the fact that he was registered in the U.S. By omitting this information, he submitted a false or misleading form.

As part of the settlement, Bains has agreed to pay $20,000, and Firethorn has agreed to pay $10,000, to the BCSC.

Neither Bains nor Firethorn has a history of regulatory misconduct in Canada and both admitted to their misconduct before the BCSC issued a Notice of Hearing.