A former RCMP officer is facing two years' probation and $147,000 in restitution related to a failed cannabis production operation in Mission. Jasvindar Singh Basi was issued a suspended sentence and 50 hours of community service by the court, according to a sentencing ruling posted online earlier this month. He was also ordered to pay roughly $75,000 each in restitution to a pair of investors.
After retiring from the RCMP, Basi was the president of GrowX Global Corporation – a business intended to lawfully produce and sell cannabis at a production facility on a property in Mission.
According to the sentencing document, Basi promoted the investment to his neighbour and his friend in September 2019, who each invested $75,000 in GrowX. The business failed, and both lost their investments. The court noted that Basi was required to file a prospectus or preliminary prospectus with the British Columbia Securities Commission concerning the investments, but failed to do so.
"In promoting the investment, Mr. Basi recklessly assured [his neighbour] that it would be safe, profitable, and secured against the Mission property. However, he failed to disclose that GrowX was in significant financial distress. Specifically, he did not inform [his neighbour] that GrowX lacked funds to pay contractors, was facing multiple lawsuits for outstanding debts, and that the Mission property was already mortgaged for approximately $2.4 million to a creditor with first priority," the judgment reads.
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