The British Columbia Securities Commission encouraged British Columbia victims of the US-based DFRF Ponzi and pyramid scheme to seek compensation by filing claims with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s DFRF Distribution Fund. The USD 15 million fraud was run in 2014 and 2015 by Daniel Rojo Fernandes Filho and others through the sale of membership units in DFRF Enterprises entities in Massachusetts and Florida, promising extraordinarily high no-risk returns from supposed gold mining operations. U.S. federal courts ruled in 2019 that securities fraud had been committed, and the British Columbia Securities Commission has found that 137 British Columbia residents or people connected to the province lost CAD 1.5 million; in February 2023, it ordered three British Columbia residents to pay almost CAD 956,000 and imposed market bans for varying periods. Investors who purchased DFRF memberships between 1 June 2014 and 30 June 2015 may be eligible, and electronic claims can be submitted by 19 December 2025 via the official claims process.
British Columbia Securities Commission 2025-10-14
British Columbia Securities Commission urges DFRF fraud victims to file compensation claims with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission distribution fund
The British Columbia Securities Commission urged victims of the DFRF Ponzi scheme to file claims with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s DFRF Distribution Fund. The scheme, operated by Daniel Rojo Fernandes Filho and others in 2014-2015, defrauded 137 British Columbia residents of CAD 1.5 million. U.S. courts confirmed securities fraud in 2019, and the Commission imposed penalties on three residents in February 2023.