Investment scam mastermind to be sentenced in 'Ponzi scheme' fraud

Quintin Sponagle heads from a sentencing hearing at provincial court in Halifax on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017. Sponagle entered a guilty plea to one count of fraud over $5,000 last December related to a Ponzi scheme that scammed Nova Scotia churchgoers and others out of millions of dollars. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan)

HALIFAX -- A Nova Scotia financial manager who was the mastermind behind an investment scam that bilked about 200 investors out of more than $1 million is to be sentenced later this year.

Quintin Sponagle of Upper Vaughan, N.S., pleaded guilty to fraud last month from his work with Jabez Financial Services Inc. of Windsor, N.S. -- a company that was registered in Panama.

He has admitted in court that he was responsible for $1.1 million worth of fraudulent activity.

Sponagle was supposed to be sentenced Thursday, but provincial court Judge Anne Derrick granted an adjournment to allow him more time to consult with a lawyer -- something he chose not to do early in the proceedings. She also said more time was needed to pull together victim impact statements.

The RCMP alleged the accused fled to Panama in 2006 after he defrauded about 189 investors of more than $4 million.

In October 2011, the Nova Scotia Securities Commission found Sponagle and Trevor Hill engaged in unfair practices, solicited investments without being registered in Panama or Canada, and failed to file a prospectus before distributing securities.

The commission concluded that between April and September 2006, the pair traded securities after receiving $4.1 million from 137 residents of Nova Scotia and 52 residents of other provinces.

"Mr. Sponagle spent investors' money on himself, and indulged friends, relatives and business associates including Mr. Hill and his family," the commission said in a statement dated Oct. 20, 2011.

The commission said the pair's actions amounted to a "deceptive and dishonest ruse, designed to extract money from trusting and unsuspecting Canadian investors. It was in the nature of a 'Ponzi scheme."'

The commission said Sponagle was the "mastermind of this scam," and it banned both men from becoming or acting as a director or officer of any publicly traded company, or acting as an investment fund manager or promoter. They were also ordered to each pay a $500,000 fine -- the maximum penalty at the time.

Canada sought Sponagle's extradition from Panama, and he was arrested in April 2013 by Panamanian authorities.

Though he opposed the extradition process in court, he was returned to Canada in November 2014.

Sponagle was originally charged with three counts of fraud over $5,000 and one of theft over $5,000. He was released on bail in December 2014 after he posted a $45,000 surety.

His trial was scheduled to start in Halifax provincial court this month, but he pleaded guilty on Dec. 22.

Auditors recovered about $2 million from Sponagle's accounts, but only a portion was returned to investors, once financial fees were covered.