Dunk believed investments were safe, lawyer says
Former motivational speaker now raises rabbits, cleans homes
KITCHENER — A former motivational speaker who was found guilty of breaching the Securities Act is not a criminal and doesn’t need rehabilitation, her lawyer says.
Paul Slansky told Justice Melanie Sopinka on Wednesday that Michelle Dunk believed the investments she suggested to her friends were an opportunity for them and thought the investments were “safe.”
Slansky said Dunk was acting on behalf of others and was not motivated by greed.
“She was as much duped as they were,” he said.
Slansky suggested his client be sentenced to 60 days in jail on weekends, plus community service and probation.
The sentencing hearing continues on Friday with Crown prosecutor Lia Di Giulio suggesting a prison term and a lifetime ban on trading.
Sopinka will sentence Dunk next month.
Dunk was found guilty of four charges under the Securities Act: fraud, trading securities while prohibited, illegally distributing securities and trading without registration.
Four investors lost a total of $157,000 in Canadian and U.S. dollars.
In 2016, Dunk, 41, was sentenced to 75 days in jail on weekends after pleading guilty to unregistered trading and breaching an order by the Ontario Securities Commission.
The latest offences, which occurred between 2012 and 2016, are related to Dunk selling promissory notes to a friend, the friend’s mother and cousin to fund closing costs for a joint venture between Rocky Point Energy and First Boston Global Custody and Trust Co.
In her victim impact statement, Frances Boychuk told the court that she feels ashamed that she believed Dunk and ignored the “red flags.”
“She deliberately painted a false reality,” said Boychuk, who lost $38,000. Her mother invested her life savings of $50,000 and now has difficulty making ends meet.
Boychuk, who had been friends with Dunk for more than 20 years, said she feels violated and that every day she asks herself, “Will we ever get our money back?”
Slansky said Dunk is remorseful and is no longer working in the financial sector.
Since being charged, she got married and is stepmom to three children. She has had difficulty finding employment and is raising rabbits and cleaning homes.
Slansky said Dunk, who attempted suicide more than once, is not a risk to reoffend. He read some of the letters in support of Dunk from family members who described her as “kind, generous and honest.”