Two British Columbia men facing stock fraud charges in the United States will appeal their extradition orders next year.

Courtney "Court" Vasseur, a Hells Angels gang member, and Curtis Lehner were both indicted in the spring of 2022 in the Southern District of New York, allegedly having been key players in a $35 million pump-and-dump stock scheme.

Both men had extradition hearings and were ordered to be sent to the U.S. to face charges after hearings in late 2023. They each then appealed that ruling, and remain in Canada for now.

Vasseur is scheduled to appear in Vancouver for an appeal on May 2, and Lehner on Sept. 8, 2025.

If their appeals fail, they may attempt to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

People accused of a crime are not guilty until charges are proven in court.

Vasseur, Lehner, and two other men, Canadian Domenic Calabrigo who was living in the Bahamas, and German-Turkish citizen Hasan Sario, were all accused of a number of crimes including conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the United States, following an FBI investigation.

The alleged frauds took place between 2013 and 2018. Some of the charges carry a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Vasseur is known to B.C. police as a member of the Hells Angels' elite Nomads chapter, but he has never been convicted of a crime in B.C.

He was an associate and employee of Matthew Brooks, a 91原创 businessman whose business collapsed in bankruptcy, and who was later convicted of a $6 million bank fraud carried out through his firm, Aggressive Roadbuilders. Brooks was sentenced to three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty in 2017.

Brooks insisted in an interview several years ago that Vasseur had nothing to do with the Aggressive fraud.

Lehner was previously a senior executive with Eron Mortgage Corporation, holding a post as a vice-president in the 1990s. Former Eron president Brian Slobogian, and vice-president Frank Biller, eventually pleaded guilty to a fraud that swindled 3,200 investors, most in B.C., out of $170 million.

Lehner was not charged in relation to the Eron fraud.

Both Vasseur and Lehner are believed to be on bail pending decisions in the extradition cases.