Clarification on BCSC case and Vanbex proceedings
You may have found this page after searching my name and seeing older articles or references to legal matters.
I believe in transparency, so I want to clearly explain what happened, what did not happen, and where you can see the primary source documents for yourself.
These are answers to the most common questions I receive.
Q1: Have you ever been found liable in a $13M BCSC fraud case?
Short answer: No.
You can verify this yourself in about ten seconds: search my name on the BCSC disciplined list and see that it is absent:
There is no B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) decision or order finding me liable in any case or investigation.
My name does not appear in the BCSC’s news release or decisions, and I am not a party to any proceeding.
At least one small website has published an article that incorrectly pastes my name into a $13M BCSC case as if I were the subject of those findings. I have been actively working to have that article corrected or removed, and I have notified Google, the registrar, and other relevant parties that it is false and defamatory.
If you see any content claiming that I was found liable, it is misattributed and does not reflect the actual regulator record.
Q2: What happened with Vanbex?
I co-founded Vanbex in 2013, one of the first blockchain companies. In 2019, the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office brought a civil action alleging fraud, and named me in it.
A few key points:
- The matter was civil, not criminal.
- No criminal charges were ever laid against me.
- The action resolved by settlement in May 2022, on terms that expressly carry no finding of liability against me.
- A settlement is not a finding of fault. The court never ruled on the merits. The matter simply ended.
I was young, and I made governance mistakes. I let a company I had founded run without the controls it needed, and I paid a real price for it — reputationally and financially. I own that, and I don't blame anyone else for it.
That lesson is now the foundation of how I build. Governance first. Evidence over narrative. When Arithmancy's own tests falsified our core thesis in August, we published the negative result and killed the thesis the same day.
If you have questions about Vanbex, I encourage you to look at both the original reporting and the later resolution so you have the full picture. I'd rather you read the record than read about it.
Q3: Where can I see primary documents?
I strongly prefer that people read the primary sources rather than rely on illegitimate news sites, or hearsay or out-of-date coverage.
Here are the main documents you can review:
BCSC – ezBtc / $13M case (not involving me)
These show that the $13M trading platform case relates to ezBtc and its founder, not to me.
BCSC news release describing the decision in the ezBtc case
BCSC decision(s) in the matter concerning ezBtc and its founder (findings and sanctions)
Vanbex civil proceedings – Resolution
My press release: “Resolution of Court Case and Dismissal of Allegations for Vanbex Group”
Summarizes the resolution of the proceedings and the settlement terms.
For obvious reasons, I am not hosting copies of all court documents on this page, but if you have a legitimate need to review something specific, you can contact me and I can point you to the appropriate public sources.
How does this experience shape your views on governance?
Over the past decade in blockchain, crypto, and now AI and robotics, I’ve seen first-hand how gaps in governance, controls, and communication can lead to misunderstanding, risk, and reputational damage—even when people are trying to build real things. I learned the expensive way that unchecked narrative is a liability. I now run the company that measures the thing everyone else assumes is fine. My current work is deeply influenced by that:
-
I advocate for real governance in early-stage AI and crypto projects: clear separation of duties, treasury controls, audits, and board oversight.
-
I design systems with traceability and accountability in mind—both for financial flows and for AI cognition and decision-making.
-
I care a lot about building companies and technologies in a way that will still make sense and hold up to scrutiny years later.
I can’t control every narrative about my past, but I can control how I show up now: with more structure, more transparency, and a commitment to doing difficult things in a responsible way.
If you are a journalist, regulator, partner, or community organization and would like to discuss any of this in more detail, you can reach me at: