Verdict upheld in Ponzi scheme
Milowe Brost asked judges to overturn fraud conviction
Alberta’s top court has upheld the conviction of a Calgary man convicted in one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in Canadian history.
In a two-page decisions released Wednesday, a three-member Alberta Court of Appeal upheld the guilty verdict against Milowe Brost on three counts related to a massive fraud scheme.
The appeal judges said Justice Robert Hall made no errors in his instructions to the jury or his handling of the case.
Lawyers Shamsher Kothari and Cory Wilson had argued Monday that Brost’s convictions should be overturned.
They argued Brost should have been granted a mistrial when his self-represented co-accused, Gary Sorenson, “confessed” to jurors in his final submissions.
“Sorenson admitted using investment funds in a fishing lodge called Saranda,” the appeal judges said, in their written ruling.
“The appellant applied for severance or a mistrial arguing that this comment was essentially a ‘confession’ by Sorenson, because part of the Crown’s theory at trial was that investor funds were used for improper purposes, including the construction of Saranda.
“The appellant submitted that Sorenson’s confession was unfair to him since the Crown theory was that the two of them were jointly responsible.”
But the appeal court said even if Sorenson’s comments amounted to a confession, it wasn’t an admission of wrongdoing by Brost.
They also noted Sorenson was arguing it was a good business deal, “essentially arguing an absence of fraudulent intent.”
“The appellant has failed to establish how the conduct of the trial by his self-represented co-accused vitiated trial fairness and amounted to a miscarriage of justice.”
The appeal judges also said Hall made no errors in removing a sick juror while deliberations were ongoing.
Wilson and Kothari had argued Hall should have consulted with counsel before deciding to dismiss the woman, who was taken to hospital with stomach problems.
Evidence that Brost assisted or instructed an assistant to give false responses to the Alberta Securities Commission also was not improperly before jurors, they said.
“Given the nature of the charges, involving an elaborate fraudulent scheme for raising money from investors, the ruling of the trial judge discloses no errors.”
Brost and Sorenson were each sentenced to 12 years in prison for their roles in one of the largest Ponzi schemes in Canadian history.
They were each convicted of two counts of fraud involving separate investment schemes in Syndicated Gold Depository and Strategic Metals.
Hall said the amount investors poured into Strategic Gold was unascertainable, but was at least $120 million and as much as $200 million.
About 2,000 to 3,000 people were defrauded in that scheme, while another 477 lost money by paying $36 million into Strategic Metals, he said in sentencing them in July 2015.
Given the nature of the charges ... the ruling of the trial judge discloses no errors.