Fraudster Reeve apologizes to investors
KITCHENER — Fraudster Daniel P. Reeve apologized in court to investors on Wednesday — the last day in front of the judge before he’s sentenced.
“To my former clients and my friends, I am sorry,” Reeve said from the prisoner’s box. “The pain that you have suffered is an unbearable weight for me. I ask for your forgiveness.”
Reeve, 58, a former financial adviser in Cambridge and Waterloo, appeared to wipe tears from his eyes.
He had previously denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty of fraud over $5,000 for fleecing 41 investors of a total of $10 million. Reeve promised investors aboveaverage returns on what he called low-risk investments. He did not deliver.
Reeve’s apology came at the end of a hearing where the Crown and defence made sentence recommendations. The sentence will be handed out June 22.
The Crown and defence are miles apart.
Crown prosecutor Fraser McCracken is seeking the maximum prison sentence — 14 years. The Crown also seeks another 10 years in prison if Reeve doesn’t pay a $20-million fine. It also wants a lifetime ban on Reeve having control over another person’s money.
Defence lawyer Mary Cremer wants eight to 10 years in prison, no fine and no ban.
Both sides agree that Reeve should get the standard 1.5-to-1 credit for the six years he has spent in pretrial custody. But Cremer wants an extra two years tacked on, meaning his pretrial jail time would be counted as 11 years, potentially giving him a sentence of time served.
Cremer cited the harsh conditions Reeve has faced in Maplehurst jail, including hundreds of days of lockdowns — when inmates can’t leave their cells — and overcrowding.
McCracken noted Reeve worked in jail as a server and cleaner and was allowed to leave his cell on many of the lockdown days.
The $20-million fine sought by the Crown represents the principal and interest from investments, and penalties investors paid for such things as cashing out RRSPs. Any fine paid would compensate victims.
Cremer opposes a fine but agrees to a restitution order. Failure to make restitution does not carry a jail sentence.
Reeve’s trial, which began in mid-2015 and ran intermittently, was one of the longest in Waterloo Region history.
“The community and Mr. Reeve want closure,” Justice Toni Skarica said Wednesday.
In finding him guilty last October, the judge wondered about Reeve’s motive for the fraud.
“Perhaps only Daniel knows,” he said. “However, Daniel was used to, as his brother put it, a ‘large’ lifestyle. He had a driver and a stretch limo, plus a fleet of automobiles: a $100,000 BMW 740, two Escalades, a Land Rover and a Porsche.”