Ponzi scheme architects out of prison, stunning man who helped foil the scam
CALGARY A man who helped bring Canada’s largest Ponzi scheme to light is flabbergasted at the news that the two men convicted of the crime are already out of jail.
Milowe Brost — who was convicted in February 2015 of bilking about 2,400 investors of more than $120 million — was paroled last spring after serving about two years of his 12-year sentence.
A media report that emerged this week also stated his co-convicted Gary Sorenson — who was incarcerated in British Columbia — had also been released on parole.
When told of the news, Graham McMillan, whose father had invested $50,000 into the scheme, said he finds it hard to believe the two are walking free, though subject to conditions.
“It boggles the mind,” said McMillan. “Nobody thought they’d really serve 12 years, but a reasonable person would have thought five.”
The two men took advantage of federal legislation that enabled them to apply for parole after serving one-sixth of their sentence because their crimes started in 1999, before the law was changed to a mandatory one-third served.
After his elderly father invested in the scheme, chartered accountant McMillan became suspicious and managed to get back his father’s money. But he made exposure of the scheme a crusade, showing up at seminars across the country and posing as a disgruntled investor.
After witnessing the con close up and knowing the misery Brost and Sorenson caused, McMillan said it’s hard to rationalize the pair’s 2017 parole.
“It’s the biggest Ponzi scheme ever in Canada and look at the sheer volume of victims,” he said, adding he doesn’t think his efforts were in vain. “I’d like to think I caused them a little heartache. … You have to take some pleasure in small victories,” said McMillan.
Brost’s lawyer said he knows there will be some public outrage in the news his client’s been released from Bowden Institution.
“I understand there may be some individuals who are upset, but in order to understand the system, you have to know how the rule of law works,” said Shamsher Kothari, adding he worked diligently for Brost’s release.
“It’s a situation where the legislation in place at the time of the offence is applicable.”
Kothari noted his client is bound by conditions such as avoiding contact with victims or criminal elements, providing financial disclosure to parole supervisors and ensuring he doesn’t have financial authority over others. He said Sorenson’s release would be partly based on equivalence in the cases.
A National Parole Board of Canada decision states there’s little danger of Brost re-offending; his unrelated criminal history is limited; and he has considerable supports in the community.
But it also delved into the impacts of the man’s crimes, saying his victims “speak of ruined lives, loss of home, loss of family and community.”
“The suffering of the victims continues and will be long-lasting,” the board says.
It also states Brost continues to maintain his innocence.