VANCOUVER – Five British Columbia residents are being accused by the provincial securities commission of helping to promote an American pyramid scheme that raised about $15 million from investors around the world.

The B.C. Securities Commission says in a news release that the scheme involved selling membership units in DFRF Enterprises LLC where about 1,400 investors were promised high no-risk returns from gold mining operations.

It alleges that there were no gold reserves and the only source of company money was from investors.

The commission alleges that Monita Chan, Sabrina Wei, Justin Villarin, Marie Vincent and James Law promoted the fraud by appearing in promotion videos, hosting meetings and accepting applications and payments.

It alleges the B.C. residents sold to 137 investors who lost all their money without receiving monthly returns.

The commission will schedule a date in July to hear the allegations, which have not been proven.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2020.