A businessman who owned Mountain Internet, the local internet service provider company, when it collapsed in 2003, is currently under investigation for several serious charges by B.C.'s and Alberta's Securities Commissions.
Michael J. Savage, who was at the helm of Mountain Internet when it folded, is being investigated for fraud, illegal distribution, misrepresentation, and trading without registration with regards to Savage Tele.com Corporation.
According to the B.C. Securities Commission, Savage's business partner in the same venture, Diane Oslund, pleaded guilty in October 2005 to several charges including Misrepresentation, Fraud, and Unregistered trading.
She has been banned from trading and acting as a company director or officer in the province until October 31, 2020.
Oslund appears to be unconnected with Mountain Internet, though she was part of Savage's business team at Savage Telecom during the period he owned the company.
At the time of its demise, Mountain Internet was a subsidiary of Savage Telecom, which had an impressive plan for providing voice and data services over the internet. The business plan called for Savage Telecom to create a wireless network that would be available for use by customers across North America. Mountain Internet was to be the test company and the example that future expansion would be based upon.
According to a decisions and orders document, 2005 BCSECCOM 449, which is available on the BCSC website, the allegations being set out under sections 161, 162 and 174 of the Securities Act, RSBC 1996 include:
"In March 2000, the Respondents purported to sell to investors shares in an entity named Savage Tele.com Corporation.
"Eight investors (the Investors) paid a total of $765,000 USD to the Respondents for these shares and entered into share subscription agreements signed by Oslund, purportedly on behalf of Savage Tele.com Corporation.
"The Investors entered into the subscription agreement in reliance upon misrepresentations made by the Respondents, including the false claim that Savage Tele.com Corporation had been incorporated in British Columbia, the State of Delaware, or both."
"In fact, Savage Tele.com Corporation did not exist and the Investors received nothing in return for their investments."
No connection between these charges and the failure of Mountain Internet has been established to date. The connection between Savage Telecom and Savage Tele.com Corporation is also not clear.
Mountain Internet, Squamish's home-grown internet service provider, went from nothing to a successful small business - but less than 10 years after its creation, it became a trail of lawsuits, unpaid debts and broken dreams.
Savage, then 42, was the person left trying to make things right for those affected - but some of his former investors sued him and his company. Savage bought Mountain Internet in 2000 from Detlef Rudolph, who started the company in 1994 as a basic internet service provider for Squamish. The customer base expanded and the company offered website hosting and was also working toward offering wireless internet access at the time of the sale.
Savage is scheduled to appear in in front of the securities commission from October 23 to 30, 2006, in Vancouver.
