Serial fraudster sentenced to three years
Man with long history of crime took money for yachts that were not his to sell
Following a significant number of delays since his 2022 guilty plea, time has run out for Iroquois-based developer and convicted fraudster Edouard Bonamie.
Ontario Court of Justice Judge Ann Alder delivered her sentence in Ottawa on April 11.
Bonamie, 75, was sentenced to three years (36 months) in prison. A restitution order for $550,000 U.S,. was also issued, as was an order to provide a DNA sample. He will receive 10 months credit against his prison term due to his pretrial incarceration.
Bonamie pleaded guilty in June 2022 to three counts of fraud over $5,000 and one count of uttering a forged document. He had been charged in December 2021 with seven charges relating to the crimes.
The three fraud charges are related to three yacht-sale schemes by Bonamie. The first victim, a then76-year-old man from the United States, was defrauded of $250,000 U.S. by Bonamie for the sale of a boat. Bonamie represented himself as a broker. The victim received documents with the forged signature of the boat's previous owner, but did not receive a boat.
The second victim, from Quebec, attempted four subsequent boat purchases with Bonamie as broker. Before each deal fell through, more money was paid as a deposit to Bonamie. On the fourth boat-purchase attempt, the seller did not want to use a broker. The victim and seller negotiated a sale directly.
When the victim asked for the money to be returned, Bonamie did not do so. That victim had paid $190,000 and went to civil court for a judgment against Bonamie.
The third victim, from Toronto, was defrauded of $550,000. He had contacted Bonamie as a broker and travelled to the Gulf of St. Lawrence for a sea-trial on the yacht. Bonamie claimed the yacht was his: it was not. No sale was transacted.
The court heard from Crown attorney Caroline Thibault and investigating Ottawa Police Service Det. Steven Desjourdy that they had confirmed victims one and two had received the full amount of restitution required. Victim three had not.
Until the sentencing was read Thursday, some details of the case were protected by a publication ban under the Criminal Code. With the criminal matter now concluded, the publication ban is no longer in force.
Speaking about all three victims, Alder said that in addition to Bonamie's criminality, he breached the trust of the victims with the type of fraud committed.
“They are unrelated victims. This occurred over the course of several years. This is not a situation where the accused is an inexperienced business person who gets in over their head and in an attempt to fulfil obligations, resorts to fraud,” she explained. “Mr. Bonamie may have believed he was entitled to take the money from these two victims as he felt wronged by them. But, given his history, given his comments, given this was a conscious choice he made to obtain his own form of justice, I find that I cannot in any way diminish his moral blameworthiness.”
Alder said the harm to the victims financially was an aggravating factor. Speaking about the U.s.-based victim, she said this was an older individual, who suffered not only financial loss, but an emotional loss.
“(The victim) is now 82 years old. He's now only received that money in the last few days. He should have been enjoying his life these last few years, but yet at 76 he was forced to deal with this situation. He felt a sense of betrayal. He was forced to deal with emotions such as anxiousness, fearfulness, a loss of trust, and anger, which only continued over the years.”
Alder also spoke to the loss of the other two victims. One had to take out a loan, and both victims suffered stress and anxiety, along with their families. She noted the Toronto victim has not yet been paid any restitution.
Working in Bonamie's favour was his guilty plea, which saved the court system time and resources, along with saving victims from having to testify. His payment of restitution to two of the three victims was also a factor.
Details of how the restitution amounts were raised was not confirmed, though it was revealed in court the funds were handled through the trust account of another lawyer retained by Bonamie specifically to handle the restitution disbursement.
“Also mitigating is that Mr. Bonamie has a supportive partner who has been there throughout the process,” Alder said. “No doubt she will continue to be there for him.”
Bonamie's common-law wife, Patricia Theriault, sat in court beside him while the sentence was read. The couple was expressionless as Alder delivered the sentence.
In the defence's sentencing submission, lawyer Eric Granger cited the gap between his last offence in 2009 and the offences in 2017 as proof Bonamie was capable of going without reoffending.
“He may be, as council referred to as `aging out,'” Alder said. “In this case I agree the gap may suggest that Mr. Bonamie is capable of not reoffending. But the issue is really whether he is willing to not reoffend. His behaviour suggests he has not. These are not offences of opportunity. These are not spur of the moment offences. These are not errors in judgment. These are not loss of inhibition due to substance abuse.”
Alder continued that the offences were not historical.
“These type of offences can be committed at any age, and that's clear looking at the dates involved here,” she said. “We can hope Mr. Bonamie has `aged out' as defence claimed, but I find there is little reassurance that he has.”
The defence sought a sentence under the two year minimum, served in the community. The Crown's submission sought a sentence of five years, with credit for his pretrial custody.
“Mr. Bonamie deliberately defrauded each of the victims in this case of a significant amount of money. Three unrelated victims. Three separate scenarios over the course of several years. Mr. Bonamie minimizes his responsibility and appears to lack insight — it is almost as if he believes he has a sense of entitlement,” she said.
Alder credited Bonamie for being honest with the court.
“He did say he did not want to insult the court's intelligence by saying he is someone whom he is not. Who Mr. Bonamie is is someone who for decades has repeatedly defrauded people, has repeatedly committed offences. It may be because of some belief he is entitled to, it may be some form of vigilante justice. But Mr. Bonamie has lived his life according to his own terms. He has not been deterred from committing offences despite spending many years of his life — close if not more — than a decade, in custody,” Alder said. “He is an intelligent man. He was aware of the risks that he was taking and it appears that he did not care.”
Alder said the bulk of Bonamie's past convictions were for fraud. She read a list of the fraud convictions dating to 1972, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1993, 1998, and 2004.
She said Bonamie had been released from prison twice having served part of a sentence, and had violated the terms of that release both times. Bonamie's previous run of convictions began in Quebec, and continued into British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
To date, he has served more than 10 years in prison.
“What sets this case apart is Mr. Bonamie's prior criminal record, and blatant disregard for the law and the harm his action causes his victims. I find that the total sentence to be proportionate in this case is clearly in the three- to fiveyear range, and, if it were not for the mitigating factors — and were not particularly for the restitution in this case — they would be clearly be closer if not above the upper end of the range,” she said.
While the criminal proceedings against Bonamie have concluded, several civil matters continue on.
This includes judgments against Bonamie, Theriault, and her company, South Dundas Waterfront Development Corp. To date, more than $3.7 million in civil litigation has been filed, with more than $2 million in judgments issued.
Some properties previously owned by the SDWDC have been seized under the federal Mortgages Act for nonpayment, and subsequently sold or listed for sale.
Lastly, there is civil litigation filed by the law firm that represented Bonamie, Theriault, and the SDWDC — Gowling WLG — which is seeking nearly $100,000 in unpaid legal fees spanning 18 months.