The little bank that isn't

On April 29, four investigators had dropped unannounced into Glenn Anderson's office at 439288 BC Ltd. in Burns Lake, BC, and probed the company's books. The numbered company, offering 12% interest rates, had taken in about $40 million from 400 to 500 "investors" in amounts ranging from $190 to $2 million and had lent most of that money, at rates of 17% and 18%, to about 1,400 borrowers for everything from weekend spending money to heavy equipment financing. They determined that the numbered company was not only insolvent, but had deteriorated into a sort of Ponzi scheme. On May 3, FICOM issued a cease and desist order against the numbered company and its three directors, and froze the company's assets. When the regulators issued their cease and desist order, the Burns Lake community was consumed with outrage.