Alleged fraudster stays behind bars
Man charged in Valley hockey dorm fiasco denied bail
The man at the centre of the Penticton hockey dormitory fiasco will stay behind bars until at least the end of his trial.
Loren Reagan, 56, was denied bail Tuesday in B.C. Supreme Court.
He’s facing charges of fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, unauthorized management of a lottery scheme and failing to appear pursuant to a court order.
A routine publication ban was imposed that covers evidence presented at the hearing and the judge’s reasons for his decision.
Reagan, a large man dressed in red, prisonissued clothing, represented himself Tuesday and seemed surprised to learn he was being sent back to jail.
The charge of failing to appear arose after Reagan failed to show up for trial in Penticton on Sept. 11, 2017, an alleged breach of a previous bail order.
A Canada-wide warrant was subsequently issued for Reagan, while co-accused Mike Elphicke was convicted at trial on all charges and is due to be sentenced next month. Police arrested Reagan on March 4 in Calgary. Elphicke’s trial heard he and Reagan created the Okanagan Elite Hockey Association in 2010 with the intent of sending teenagers and their parents on a European hockey tour.
The trip never materialized, and funds were diverted to personal expenses and the dormitory project, which was scuttled in 2011 when Reagan failed to come up with the cash required to buy Eckhardt Avenue properties from the City of Penticton.
Just last month, Reagan filed a $450,000 civil lawsuit against Elphicke and five others, accusing them of defaming him on a now-defunct Facebook page.
He’s due back in court March 26 to set a date for trial.