A hops farm in Fraser Valley, British Columbia, is facing some serious allegations. The hops farming operation and its directors are facing a fraud investigation for allegedly selling company shares illegally.

The B.C. Securities Commission alleges Fraser Valley Hop Farms Inc. (FVHF), its director and marketing director combined sold $1.9 million in shares to investors who were told the money would go directly to the hop farm operation.

Alexander Bridges, also known as Alex Blackwell, is listed as the sole director and controls the company accounts.

The commission says 18 investors were solicited from December 2016 to July 2018 by Bridges and Shane Douglas Harder-Toews, named as FVHF’s marketing director.

“Bridges and FVHF used approximately $500,000 of the funds for cash withdrawals, expenses unrelated to the farm, and to pay Bridges,” says the release from the securities commission. “The BCSC alleges the company and Bridges committed fraud under the Securities Act by using some of the funds for these other purposes,” according to this article in the Vancouver Sun. 

The commission also claims that, between 2016 and 2019, the hops operation distributed securities to 13 investors worth $931,000 while failing to file a prospectus that would provide details of the investment. The company did not qualify for an exemption on producing a prospectus.

The pair are due to appear at the commission offices on Dec. 7 if they want to respond to the allegation before a hearing is scheduled.

EDITORIAL CORRECTION: Dec. 5, 2022, Brewers Journal Canada corrected the feature image corresponding to an earlier version of this article.