Earl Jones (investment advisor)
Encyclopedia
Bertram Earl Jones, commonly known as Earl Jones, (born c. 1942, Montreal
) is a Canadian non-practicing investment adviser who pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme
which CBC News
has reported cost his victims "a conservative estimate of about C$
51.3 million taken between 1982 and 2009". After pleading guilty to two charges of fraud in 2010, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
on June 24,1942, and was raised in the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
. In his twenties, he worked at Montreal Trust Company
, where he was trained in handling estate planning
and wills
. Beginning around 1979, he started his own investment advising business, though he did not register as a financial adviser with any securities regulator.
-like returns to prospective clients. However, he never invested any of the $50.3 million he raised. He spent $13 million to finance a lavish lifestyle and paid back $37 million to maintain the illusion of the 8% return he had promised. The 158 victims included his own brother and sister-in-law, who lost $1 million.
From July 9 to 26, 2009, he disappeared. CBC Radio One
reported on July 16 that unless Jones returned, Quebec
authorities would proceed with the insolvency proceedings of his firm in his absence. On July 27, Jones surrendered to police. Earl Jones Consultant and Administration Corporation and Earl Jones, personally, were declared bankrupt on July 29 and August 19, 2009, respectively. The Trustee reported Earl Jones and his wife Maxine (Heayberd) Jones had acquired four properties during the fraud: a lakefront Dorval, Quebec, condominium, a condominium on a golf course in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, and two properties in the United States.
On December 3, 2009, CBC Radio One reported that his Dorval, Quebec
condo is on sale for $950,000 as part of the bankruptcy proceedings to partially pay off creditors. All properties would eventually be sold, the proceeds paying for the Trustee and legal services. In fact, the creditors would not recover any money through bankruptcy proceedings, as Jones had heavily mortgaged three of the properties to keep his Ponzi scheme afloat.
On January 14, 2010, Global TV Montreal reported that Jones admitted in court filings to having engaged in a Ponzi scheme for at least twenty years. On January 15, Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud. and on February 15, he was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.
Throughout Jones’ career he developed a vast network of professional and financial liaisons, which included lawyers and notaries, mortgage and insurance brokers, and banks. By his own admission, Jones was an unregistered financial advisor and relied on these business relationships to perpetrate his fraud. While the Crown Prosecutor and Sûreté du Québec investigators could not find sufficient evidence of criminal complicity, pending legal action in the Civil Courts has sought compensation for the victims in the far-reaching fraud.
At the Ponzi scheme’s most basic level, Jones collected money from individuals and Estates and then returned the same money as monthly interest payments. Since there is a limited supply of new clients, the fraud could not have operated for as long as Jones perpetrated his scheme without what the forensic accountants have termed “fresh money”.
The so-called fresh money schemes required Jones to leverage the participation of his professional and financial relationships. Evidence produced in criminal and civil Courts indicates Jones obtained the vast majority of fresh money by fraudulently liquidating his clients’ investment accounts and/or by coercing his clients to obtain mortgage loans on their homes, essentially placing their residence in jeopardy of foreclosure.
The Committee organized various Montreal-based community support groups, including the West Island Community Resource Center and Sun Youth Organization to provide financial relief to those most in need. Since many of Jones' former clients were unable to navigate the complicated process of collecting information for authorities, the Committee also mobilized the victims to organize and obtain records of their dealings with Jones. This grass-roots forensic effort exposed a trail of professional and financial negligence, which directly assisted in the criminal prosecution and legal proceedings in the Quebec Superior Court against those professional and financial liaisons Jones leveraged to perpetrate his fraud.
suit against his banker, Royal Bank of Canada
(RBC). They allege that RBC knew or should have known that Jones was misusing his RBC account and failed to take corrective measures. RBC claims not to know that Jones was misrepresenting its role in his affairs until his 2009 arrest. The suit was prompted by a Fifth Estate
investigation which uncovered an internal memo dated November 7, 2001 showing that RBC knew Jones was passing off his personal account as an in-trust business account. RBC did not ask him to open a commercial account until 2008 - just before the scandal broke. The suit seeks to recover about $40 million, the amount deposited into the account between 1981 and 2008.
On February 7, 2011, a former client, on behalf of herself and her mother's Estate, filed a law suit in the Quebec Superior Courts against RBC Dominion Securities. The suit alleges that RBC enabled and assisted Jones to hijack, then fraudulently transfer, withdraw and misappropriate funds of the joint account held by the former client and her deceased mother. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada is currently conducting an investigation into the issue, which includes the RBC Dominion Securities advisers involved in the case, Jean Pierre Menard and Serge Leclaire.
On August 2, 2010, lawyers representing another former client in a law suit in the Quebec Superior Courts against Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc, amended their Motion to Institute Proceedings to include Notary Linda Frazer, a longtime associate of Earl Jones. The suit alleges the Defendants acted with gross imprudence and negligence in the execution of a mortgage loan against the elderly client's home, which she had no knowledge of signing. Her Montreal townhouse was subsequently sold.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
) is a Canadian non-practicing investment adviser who pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
which CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
has reported cost his victims "a conservative estimate of about C$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
51.3 million taken between 1982 and 2009". After pleading guilty to two charges of fraud in 2010, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Early life
Jones was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
on June 24,1942, and was raised in the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce , also nicknamed NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal located in the city's west-end. It is one of five districts of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce...
. In his twenties, he worked at Montreal Trust Company
Montreal Trust Company
Montreal Trust Company was formed in 1889 and 100 years later described itself as "one of Canada's largest trust companies." In 1994, Scotiabank acquired Montreal Trust....
, where he was trained in handling estate planning
Estate planning
Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the disposal of an estate. Estate planning typically attempts to eliminate uncertainties over the administration of a probate and maximize the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses...
and wills
Wills
Wills is a surname and may refer to:* Alfred Wills , English High Court judge and mountaineer* Andrew Wills , Australian rules footballer* Anneke Wills , British actress...
. Beginning around 1979, he started his own investment advising business, though he did not register as a financial adviser with any securities regulator.
Ponzi scheme
The Montreal Gazette reported that he promised Bernard MadoffBernard Madoff
Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is a former American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S...
-like returns to prospective clients. However, he never invested any of the $50.3 million he raised. He spent $13 million to finance a lavish lifestyle and paid back $37 million to maintain the illusion of the 8% return he had promised. The 158 victims included his own brother and sister-in-law, who lost $1 million.
From July 9 to 26, 2009, he disappeared. CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
reported on July 16 that unless Jones returned, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
authorities would proceed with the insolvency proceedings of his firm in his absence. On July 27, Jones surrendered to police. Earl Jones Consultant and Administration Corporation and Earl Jones, personally, were declared bankrupt on July 29 and August 19, 2009, respectively. The Trustee reported Earl Jones and his wife Maxine (Heayberd) Jones had acquired four properties during the fraud: a lakefront Dorval, Quebec, condominium, a condominium on a golf course in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, and two properties in the United States.
On December 3, 2009, CBC Radio One reported that his Dorval, Quebec
Dorval, Quebec
Dorval is a city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. As of the 2006 Canadian Census, the population increased by 2.2% to 18,088. Although the city has the largest surface area in the West Island, it is among the least densely populated...
condo is on sale for $950,000 as part of the bankruptcy proceedings to partially pay off creditors. All properties would eventually be sold, the proceeds paying for the Trustee and legal services. In fact, the creditors would not recover any money through bankruptcy proceedings, as Jones had heavily mortgaged three of the properties to keep his Ponzi scheme afloat.
On January 14, 2010, Global TV Montreal reported that Jones admitted in court filings to having engaged in a Ponzi scheme for at least twenty years. On January 15, Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud. and on February 15, he was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.
Throughout Jones’ career he developed a vast network of professional and financial liaisons, which included lawyers and notaries, mortgage and insurance brokers, and banks. By his own admission, Jones was an unregistered financial advisor and relied on these business relationships to perpetrate his fraud. While the Crown Prosecutor and Sûreté du Québec investigators could not find sufficient evidence of criminal complicity, pending legal action in the Civil Courts has sought compensation for the victims in the far-reaching fraud.
At the Ponzi scheme’s most basic level, Jones collected money from individuals and Estates and then returned the same money as monthly interest payments. Since there is a limited supply of new clients, the fraud could not have operated for as long as Jones perpetrated his scheme without what the forensic accountants have termed “fresh money”.
The so-called fresh money schemes required Jones to leverage the participation of his professional and financial relationships. Evidence produced in criminal and civil Courts indicates Jones obtained the vast majority of fresh money by fraudulently liquidating his clients’ investment accounts and/or by coercing his clients to obtain mortgage loans on their homes, essentially placing their residence in jeopardy of foreclosure.
The Earl Jones Victims Organizing Committee (EJVOrgCom)
Soon after Jones’ fraud was uncovered, the Earl Jones Victims Organizing Committee was formed to assist Jones' mostly elderly former clients. The Committee consisted of eight sons and daughters of the former clients and their efforts would receive the backing of Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, . Committee member Joey Davis would go on to be a key spokesperson for the victims, launching a Canada-wide "National Coalition against White-Collar Crime" and play a key role in passing Bill C-59, Abolition of Early Parole Act, ensuring a more lengthy prison term for Jones' crimes. Another Committee member, Virginia Nelles, would eventually represent all victims in Class Action against the Royal Bank of Canada, the primary bank where Jones operated his Ponzi scheme.The Committee organized various Montreal-based community support groups, including the West Island Community Resource Center and Sun Youth Organization to provide financial relief to those most in need. Since many of Jones' former clients were unable to navigate the complicated process of collecting information for authorities, the Committee also mobilized the victims to organize and obtain records of their dealings with Jones. This grass-roots forensic effort exposed a trail of professional and financial negligence, which directly assisted in the criminal prosecution and legal proceedings in the Quebec Superior Court against those professional and financial liaisons Jones leveraged to perpetrate his fraud.
Pending Civil Litigation
On July 15, 2010, some of Jones' victims were authorized by a Quebec Superior Court judge to launch a class actionClass action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
suit against his banker, Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
(RBC). They allege that RBC knew or should have known that Jones was misusing his RBC account and failed to take corrective measures. RBC claims not to know that Jones was misrepresenting its role in his affairs until his 2009 arrest. The suit was prompted by a Fifth Estate
The fifth estate
the fifth estate is a Canadian television newsmagazine, which airs on the English language CBC Television network. The name is a play on the fact that the media are sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate, and was chosen to highlight the program's determination to go beyond everyday news into...
investigation which uncovered an internal memo dated November 7, 2001 showing that RBC knew Jones was passing off his personal account as an in-trust business account. RBC did not ask him to open a commercial account until 2008 - just before the scandal broke. The suit seeks to recover about $40 million, the amount deposited into the account between 1981 and 2008.
On February 7, 2011, a former client, on behalf of herself and her mother's Estate, filed a law suit in the Quebec Superior Courts against RBC Dominion Securities. The suit alleges that RBC enabled and assisted Jones to hijack, then fraudulently transfer, withdraw and misappropriate funds of the joint account held by the former client and her deceased mother. The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada is currently conducting an investigation into the issue, which includes the RBC Dominion Securities advisers involved in the case, Jean Pierre Menard and Serge Leclaire.
On August 2, 2010, lawyers representing another former client in a law suit in the Quebec Superior Courts against Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc, amended their Motion to Institute Proceedings to include Notary Linda Frazer, a longtime associate of Earl Jones. The suit alleges the Defendants acted with gross imprudence and negligence in the execution of a mortgage loan against the elderly client's home, which she had no knowledge of signing. Her Montreal townhouse was subsequently sold.