Disgraced financiers David and Antoinette Bolden could face a civil class action from former investors of Emerald Capital International (ECI).Larry Larson, a private investigator hired by business partners of the Boldens to probe theft allegations, told The Royal Gazette that overseas investors were “seeking legal advice regarding a civil proceeding” against the couple.The Boldens were cleared by a Supreme Court jury last month of theft and money laundering charges but convicted of misleading the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). They have yet to be sentenced.The pair denied stealing $272,000 from ECI, an investment company they founded with Canadian partners Jason Bagg and John Wright in 2007, and were found not guilty of 18 charges.Retired police detective Mr Larson, who put $10,000 of his own money into ECI, was brought in by Mr Bagg and Mr Wright to investigate their suspicions that the Boldens were using company funds for private purposes.He passed the evidence he gathered to Bermuda Police Service and said its officers, led by Detective Constable Paul Fenwick, should be commended for the “complete and concise investigation” they conducted.But he described the June 14 acquittals as disappointing and suggested the jury pool in Bermuda should be expanded to include expatriates. “The jury pool is far too limited and the Island is far too small for a fair trial of this complexity,” said Mr Larson, of Ontario. “Getting a correct jury selection is very difficult there.”The BMA took enforcement action to begin winding up the Emerald Group of Companies in July 2009.The Official Receiver was brought in and appointed professional services firm KPMG to coordinate the winding-up process and return investor funds to Emerald clients where possible. Mr Larson said ECI investors were still waiting to hear back from KPMG.In the meantime, he said, the investors were not satisfied with the result of the Supreme Court trial and were exploring other legal avenues to recoup many thousands of dollars worth of investment in the failed firm.“We have to do some more due diligence and find out what assets [the Boldens have], if they have any left. If we do find assets, we’ll certainly look at going at it. We would look at a class action. When you look at it from a civil end of things, a lot of the evidence would be admissible, where it’s not admissible in a criminal case.“Civil law is far different from that of criminal law. I would think that all the shareholders would get together and file the class action against them. I don’t know offhand but I believe there were between ten and 15 investors.”Mr Larson said the ECI investors had struggled to find a lawyer to represent them in Bermuda so were likely to hire a British one if the civil case went ahead. “We’d have to weigh the costs versus our chances of getting anything back from them,” he added.David Bolden, 48, and Antoinette, 47, of Hamilton Parish, were convicted on June 14 of one charge of misleading the BMA over the financial position of their Emerald Financial Group.They made what the jury deemed to be false claims to the regulator between September 28 and October 28, 2008, in answer to BMA inquiries about the Emerald Group’s liquidity and capitalisation.The couple is due to appear at the next arraignments session on August 1, when a sentencing date should be set. They could face a prison term and a hefty fine. Mr Larson said he hoped the court would take a dim view of their crime, suggesting a light sentence would deter foreign investors from putting money into Bermudian companies.“I’m sure that it’s going to have some bearing on future investors coming into Bermuda, knowing that if something goes amok down there, the chances of conviction are very low.”