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A Surrey pastor and his son, along with a White Rock man, defrauded investors out of $450,000 in a real estate investment scheme, says the B.C. Securities Commission.

A BCSC panel has found that Alan and Jerry Braun, and Steven Maxwell (a.k.a. Steven Fassman), committed fraud when they took the money from two backers that believed they were investing in real estate in Edmonton.

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Braun was a pastor at the Royal Heights Baptist Church in Delta, but left earlier this year.

Photo by Ian Lindsay / PROVINCE

The panel also made fraud findings against three companies, Braun Developments, TerraCorp Investment Ltd., and Canada Inc.

The panel also found that Braun Developments and Canada Inc. committed fraud with respect to the three investments in the amount of $450,000, and TerraCorp Investment committed fraud of $300,000.

The BCSC says Alan and Jerry Braun, both directors and officers of Braun Developments and TerraCorp Investment, were responsible for directing the affairs of both entities. Maxwell was a director of Canada Inc. and was responsible for its affairs.

The three men deceived the investors by leading them to believe that they were purchasing real estate investments in Edmonton that would yield 50 per cent returns in a short period, according to the BCSC.

But the BCSC found they did not use the money to invest in real estate. Instead, they used the investors’ money for other purposes, including for their own personal living expenses.

Sanctions against the Brauns and Maxwell will be determined at a later date.

ticrawford@postmedia.com