A judge is being asked to decide whether a woman who gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to an Edmonton man was defrauded, or simply made a bad investment.
Investment
Fraud, or bad investment? Edmonton psychotherapist lost $350k in alleged investment scheme, court hears during trial’s closing arguments
Instead, “her money is gone,” the Crown said in its written arguments.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Shaina Leonard heard closing arguments in the case Tuesday.
Penn, who is in her 60s, came to Canada in 2009 to attend a seminar by John de Ruiter, a self-appointed spiritual leader currently facing charges of sexual assault in an unrelated case. She moved to Canada permanently in 2010 after attending a second de Ruiter seminar.
During that conversation, Penn revealed she had previously given a 400,000 euro loan to a college and had to engage in litigation to get the money back. Cooney then told Penn she knew someone who could help her invest in humanitarian projects, and introduced her to Bayne.
At the time of their February 2013 meeting, Bayne was bankrupt after losing a 2012 lawsuit and owed creditors over $600,000. According to the Crown’s brief, Bayne explained to Penn that he was creating an entity to fund projects in the developing world, giving the example of sustainable housing projects in Africa, without “leaving a heavy debt burden on those who could not afford it.” He allegedly promised Penn a 100 per cent rate of return. Penn testified the money, which she payed in several instalments between 2013 and 2017, would go to an entity called Grace Endowment.
During closing arguments, Bayne’s lawyer, Steven Fix, argued the Crown failed to prove Penn was defrauded. He said Leonard must be convinced Penn “was somehow deceived” in order to convict.
“It’s not about whether this was a good investment, whether a reasonable person in law would make that investment,” he said. He said Bayne still believes his ideas are viable, and that the deal simply fell through.
“For all of the Teslas and Franklins and Wright brothers, there were hundreds who failed with the same ideas,” Fix said. “The difference between a visionary and a dreamer is someone who closes a deal.”
Fix added that even if Bayne took steps to move the money in a way to defeat his creditors, that doesn’t mean Penn was defrauded.
“This was an ill-advised investment that went bad. And that happens to people, unfortunately, all the time,” Hopkins said. “She went into this with her eyes open. She wasn’t misled.”
The Crown, on the other hand, said the evidence proves Penn was defrauded. Julie Snowdon and Aaron Rankin argued Bayne and Cooney took advantage of a lonely, older woman who was a new immigrant to Canada. It said Bayne — who claimed he was attempting to piece together multi-million dollar financial deals and was close to accessing “billions” in assets locked in a safe in New York — was in fact an undischarged bankrupt working as a part-time landscaper.
The Crown claimed Bayne is a “classic conman,” able to “spin a web of obfuscation and mumbo-jumbo, a patter of faux-sophisticated claptrap intended to give him the veneer of a person of knowledge and insight, forever on the cusp of some sort of breakthrough.”
“For a period of four years, they solicited money from her, while assuring her that she would be repaid with significant interest,” the Crown concluded. “There was never any realistic possibility that she would be.”
Leonard will give her decision July 6.
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
News3 hours ago
Suspicious deaths of two N.S. men were the result of homicide, suicide: RCMP
News3 hours ago
Turning the tide: Quebec premier visits Cree Nation displaced by hydro project in 70s
News5 hours ago
Quebec premier visits Cree community displaced by hydro project in 1970s
Media1 year ago
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Sports5 years ago
AP source: Bears acquiring quarterback Nick Foles from Jaguars – Sportsnet.ca
Investment5 years ago
dynaCERT Inc. Invites You to Join Us at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference | INN – Investing News Network
-
Sports8 hours agoPenguins re-sign Crosby to two-year extension that runs through 2026-27 season
-
Politics11 hours agoNext phase of federal foreign interference inquiry to begin today in Ottawa
-
News11 hours agoFeds wary of back-to-work legislation despite employer demands: labour experts
-
Economy9 hours agoLiberals announce expansion to mortgage eligibility, draft rights for renters, buyers
-
News11 hours agoVoters head to the polls for byelections in Montreal and Winnipeg
-
News11 hours agoOntario considers further expanding pharmacists’ scope to include more minor ailments
-
Real eState11 hours agoNational housing market in ‘holding pattern’ as buyers patient for lower rates: CREA
-
Economy10 hours agoStatistics Canada says manufacturing sales up 1.4% in July at $71B
