Retired RCMP Officer Basi Receives Suspended Sentence for Cannabis Business Securities Violations.

A former RCMP officer, Jasvindar Singh Basi, has been sentenced to a suspended sentence, 50 hours of community service, and two years' probation for "reckless" securities violations related to his failed cannabis company, GrowX Global Corp. Basi was ordered to pay back $147,000 to investors who lost money due to his actions. The court found Basi not deceitful but "reckless" in convincing his neighbor to invest without filing a prospectus or disclosing the company's financial distress.

A British Columbia provincial court has handed a suspended sentence to a former RCMP officer, Jasvindar Singh Basi, for securities violations related to his failed cannabis company, GrowX Global Corp. The court found Basi not deceitful but "reckless" in convincing his neighbor to invest without filing a prospectus or disclosing the company's financial distress [1].

Basi, who retired from the RCMP six years ago, incorporated GrowX Global Corp. with a business plan centered on building a production facility in Mission, B.C. He promoted the investment opportunity to his neighbor, who, along with a friend, each invested $75,000. The company failed, and the investors lost their money [2].

The court ruling states that Basi did not file a prospectus as required by provincial securities regulations and "recklessly assured" his neighbor that the investment was safe and profitable. He failed to disclose that the company was in significant financial distress, did not have money to pay contractors, was being sued for unpaid debts, and that the Mission property was mortgaged for $2.4 million [1].

Basi committed a "serious" offence under the Securities Act but not a criminal one. He was sentenced to a suspended sentence, 50 hours of community service, two years probation, and ordered to pay back $147,000 to the investors [1].

The judge noted that Basi's conduct was not motivated by malevolence, greed, or an intention to deceive or defraud. He genuinely believed the business would succeed and invested his own life savings into it [1].

The court found Basi "created a false sense of urgency" about the investment being time-sensitive by claiming the company was on the verge of going public. The Crown had sought a three-month prison sentence for Basi, but the judge found his guilty plea and genuine remorse were mitigating factors [1].

The ruling also states that the offences carried a maximum penalty of $1 million and up to three years in prison at the time of Basi's violations, but these have since been increased to $5 million and up to five years imprisonment [1].

The judge's ruling emphasizes that Basi's offence will not result in a criminal record. "As a retired police officer, he ought to have known the importance of complying with the regulatory framework set out in the Securities Act," the ruling says [1].

References:

[1] https://www.coastreporter.net/national-business/bc-provincial-court-gives-former-mountie-probation-for-securities-act-violations-10932750
[2] https://www.ckom.com/2025/07/11/ex-mountie-sentenced-for-reckless-cannabis-business-securities-violations-in-b-c/