Man arrested for allegedly defrauding Roman Catholic archdiocese
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Published on June 20, 2011 Published on June 20, 2011 printAdTag('300x250,300x80','tc.thetelegram','news','pos=but3'); Topics : Ernst and Young The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has charged a 62-year-old man from St. John’s in connection with defrauding nearly $600,000 from the the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s.
As of press time the RNC had not named the man but police did confirm he would appear in court on Aug 2.
Most of the charges stem from alleged thefts from a pension fund and the issuance of about 400 fraudulent cheques.
A breakdown of the charges include one count of criminal breach of trust, eight counts of fraud over $5,000, five counts of fraud under $5,000, 10 counts of forgery, 10 counts of uttering forged documents and one count of unauthorized use of a computer.
The RNC Economic Crime Unit has been investigating this case since January when the archdiocese first laid a formal complaint. The money was found to be missing after an audit of the books between 2003 and 2010 by accounting firm Ernst and Young.
In the Alberta case, police said investors were told their investments were risk-free and were allegedly advised that Garth Bailey, HMS Financial's lawyer, held millions of dollars in bonds that would be liquidated if the investments failed to pay out.
"Investigators have not been able to identify the existence of any bonds and believe this high-yield investment program was a Ponzi scheme," RCMP said in a statement.
The scheme collapsed in March 2004 when the company could not meet its payout obligations, police said. That is when RCMP began its investigation.
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CALGARY — Calgary RCMP have charged four people after a five-year investigation into what they said was a $60-million Ponzi scheme that victimized more than 1,000 people across North America.
Notice of Disbarment -
uesday, June 15, 2010
Notice of Disbarment - Garth S. Bailey
On May 25, 2010, a Resignation Committee of the Benchers of the Law Society of Alberta granted the application of Garth S. Bailey to resign, pursuant to Section 61 of the Legal Profession Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. L-8. Mr. Bailey is therefore disbarred. Mr. Bailey was a suspended member of the Law Society. He resides in DeWinton, Alberta and practised from April 18, 1989 until March 11, 2005 when he was suspended on an interim basis by a resolution of the Benchers.
Mr. Bailey faced a discipline hearing on five citations at the time of his resignation application. The citations alleged that Mr. Bailey deliberately or through incompetence facilitated a client to achieve or seek to achieve an improper objective, that he refused to be interviewed and to cooperate with an investigation, that he placed the public at risk through his incompetent or reckless handling of trust funds, that he issued letters to third parties that were inaccurate or misleading, and that he failed to follow accounting rules.
Mr. Bailey admitted facts and the foregoing allegations and advised the Resignation Committee that he had been charged criminally related to the same matters addressed by the citations.
The Resignation Committee directed that Mr. Bailey pay the actual costs of the discipline proceedings and the resignation application, estimated at $3,601.25. The Resignation Committee further directed, in accordance with Section 78(6) of the Legal Profession Act, that the Executive Director send a copy of the hearing record to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
www.lawsociety.ab.ca Law Society of Alberta Calgary Office Suite 500, 919 11th Avenue SW Calgary, Alberta T2R 1P3 Phone: 403-229-4700
“Law enforcement continues to seek the public’s assistance in locating Joseph Wayne McCool, whose whereabouts are currently unknown,” the FBI said.
Cameron Campbell previously pleaded guilty and is serving a 63-month sentence in federal prison.
“Along with co-conspirators Joseph Wayne McCool and Cameron Campbell, Manning recruited retirees and members of his own family to invest millions of dollars in the Brixon Group,” the FBI said in a news release. “Manning told investors that the Brixon Group guaranteed large, guaranteed returns and that the investments were risk free. Manning also told investors that part of their investment would go toward humanitarian efforts overseas and that co-defendant McCool was a banking expert who, prior to working with Brixon, had successfully managed a large private trust in Europe.
“Manning further admitted that, through the Brixon scheme, he and his co-conspirators converted much of the investors’ money to their own personal use.
Manning admitted that he and his co-conspirators concealed from investors “that most of the money invested in Brixon would not be placed into investments and that new funds received from investors would be used to make payments to earlier investors,” prosecutors said.
CAUTION
Joseph Wayne McCool is being sought for his alleged involvement in a ponzi scheme that was based out of Mesa, Arizona. Sometime before February, 2004, McCool allegedly conspired with two other individuals, who have since been arrested, to operate The Brixon Group, Ltd., which fraudulently solicited millions of dollars from the public. McCool solicited and induced members of the public to invest approximately $10 million in Brixon by making fraudulent and misleading representations concerning how the money would be used, the rates of return, the security of the investments, and their own qualifications to conduct such investments.
Reportedly, McCool promised investors that their money would be invested in European investment programs and used as reserves for high-yield insurance company portfolio investments. Investors were told that Brixon would generate returns of 10 percent per month. Investors were also falsely promised that they could not lose their principal investment because the principal was insured by the State Bar of California. Furthermore, McCool was represented to investors as a banking expert who successfully managed a large private trust in Europe before operating Brixon.
Additionally, McCool reportedly failed to disclose to investors that he did not invest money for the benefit of the investors; instead, he allegedly converted a substantial portion of the invested money for personal use and used new funds received by Brixon to make payments to earlier investors. Additionally, investors' money was never insured against loss. When Brixon failed to make promised payments to investors, McCool responded by telling investors that the money was tied up in Europe due to the United States Patriot Act and various international banking problems.
On May 11, 2006, a federal arrest warrant was issued by the United States District Court for the Southern District of California after McCool was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Additionally, McCool may be in the Philippines.