Between 2003 and 2012, former Vancouver notary public Rashida Samji undertook our province’s largest Ponzi scheme. Bilking over 200 people to the tune of $110 million, the fallout from Samji’s scheme is explored in Victim Impact, a live documentary theatrical work from Theatre Conspiracy.
“From Samji’s claim that she was the ultimate victim, to the tangle of court trials and attempts to get money back to the victims, the show exposes the dramatic effects of a vicious scam,” says writer, Tim Carlson. “It destroyed the hopes and dreams of hundreds of people including Samji’s family members and friends. And they are not satisfied that justice is being done.”
Theatre Conspiracy has also produced Victim Impact: The Fraudcast as a companion piece to the theatrical performance. With thousands of pages of court documents, and dozens of hours of interviews conducted as research, the podcast has allowed writer Tim Carlson the opportunity to investigate the reams of material that will not make it into the show.
Vancouver Presents contributing editor, Mark Robins, went into the rehearsal room with writer, Tim Carlson, and director, Jiv Parasram to find out more.
Victim Impact opens at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre on June 8 and runs through June 17. Visit conspiracy.ca for tickets and information.