The appellant was convicted at trial of defrauding the public of over $5,000 after running Ponzi-like schemes that raised approximately $12 million from 41 investors between 2007 and 2009, causing losses of over $10 million.
On appeal, the appellant argued for the first time that the fraud did not constitute a fraud "on the public" because the victims were specifically identified individuals rather than members of the public solicited indiscriminately.
The Court of Appeal rejected this argument, holding that the hallmark of fraud on the public is simply that the victims can rationally be grouped as a whole, which was satisfied by the interconnected nature of the Ponzi scheme victims.
The court also rejected the appellant's challenges to the trial judge's treatment of the Crown's forensic accounting expert report and the defence expert's evidence, finding no reversible error in the trial judge's analysis.
The appeal was dismissed.
