Saskatchewan's consumer watchdog is seeking to hold two Saskatoon women responsible for the collapse of their real estate company that left investors with millions of dollars in losses. The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority (FCAA) is seeking a total of $300,000 in administrative costs from Rochelle Laflamme and Alisa Thompson, the founders of the now-defunct company, Epic Alliance. Last year a court-ordered investigation found that $211.9 million dollars invested in the company by multiple investors was mostly gone. Attempts by CTV News to contact Laflamme and Thompson have been unsuccessful. The FCAA also wants the pair to pay compensation to each person or company that lost money as a result of their alleged contraventions of Saskatchewan's securities laws. Laflamme and Thompson would also be permanently banned from working in investment-related fields. The FCAA alleges the women offered investments when they were not licensed to do so and continued to raise money and sell investments when the agency ordered them to stop. In its filings, the FCAA included statements from a dozen investors who lost money with the firm. The FCAA also documented Facebook posts it says were published while Epic Alliance was under an order to temporarily cease trading in October 2021. "Deciding where and when to invest can be tricky, let us help you navigate these choices. We have the knowledge and experience to make this easy for you," one of the posts said. The penalties sought by the FCAA must be approved by a panel, which will convene for a two-week-long hearing scheduled to start on Aug. 28. Following last year's court-ordered investigation, a report was submitted by the court-appointed financial inspector. Many of the records available to the inspector were "highly disorganized" and data servers containing financial data were found missing from the company's office, the report said. The inspector eventually tracked down the servers — with some data still intact — at an IT company that had allegedly been told to "wipe" and sell the servers, according to the report. The inspector also found that Epic Alliance raised $370,000 from four investors while the FCAA cease trade order was still in effect. Even though the company was forbidden from trading, the inspector said a special promotion was offered where new investors could earn an additional two per cent above the posted interest rate. In the wake of the company's failure, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) said the firm was under investigation by its economic crimes unit. On Tuesday, in an email to CTV News, SPS confirmed the investigation is still considered active. The meltdown of Epic Alliance resulted in significant financial losses for more than 120 investors, mainly from British Columbia and Ontario. The company offered a "hassle-free" landlord program — offering to manage homes for out-of-province investors. Under the landlord program, the investor would take out the mortgage on the home and Epic Alliance would assume responsibility for finding tenants and maintaining the property. Many of the homes actually sat vacant as the company promised the investor a 15 per cent guaranteed rate of return on their investment. Last year, a Saskatoon attorney representing some of the investors said the pair were "using new money to pay old money." "Investment products should generate returns on (their) own, not by acquiring new money,” Mike Russell said. The company also offered a "fund-a-flip" program, where investors could buy homes through Epic Alliance — which would oversee improvements and upgrades — and then sell for a profit, often advertised as a 10 per cent return on a one-year investment. The pair also raised money through promissory notes — where investors would loan cash to be repaid with interest. The overlapping programs helped Epic Alliance amass more than 500 properties in Saskatoon totalling $126 million in value, according to the company's own promotion material. Last January, Laflamme and Thompson hosted a Zoom meeting to inform investors of the company's imminent demise. According to a transcript of the call included in a court filing, the company's financial situation was described as a "s--t sandwich." "Unfortunately, anybody who had any unsecured debts ... it's all gone. Everything is gone. There is no business left and that's what it is," the transcription said. Laflamme and Thompson started Epic Alliance in 2013. --With files from Keenan Sorokan
