A North Battleford financial advisor who has pled guilty to fraud over $5,000 is facing jail time.
How much that will be, and whether it will be served in a correctional centre or a penitentiary, should be known March 11, when the case of Adelia (Adele) Kaminsky returns to provincial court in North Battleford.
Judge Dan O’Hanlon is expected to render his decision on sentence on that date at 1:30 pm.
The judge heard sentencing arguments in provincial court Wednesday afternoon. According to the facts outlined by the Crown, $784,053 was solicited from investors during a period of time between 2006 and 2013. More than $640,000 is still unaccounted for and outstanding to investors.
Kaminsky, who was a licensed financial advisor with her own business AK Financial in North Battleford, had offered a couple of investment vehicles to clients. One was called Enviro-Can Private Placement, but according to the submission from Crown prosecutor Alexandra Findlay, that did not exist. The other was in Forex, foreign exchange trading, however the money solicited was not actually invested.
Several victim impact statements were filed from investors impacted by the fraud, and two were read out loud in court.
Counsel acknowledged a high level of outrage expressed by the victims. Defence attorney Nicholas Stooshinoff also noted in court there were death threats made to Kaminsky as well, and that she understood the “depths of the anger and rage.”
Many of the victims were elderly people who lost their life savings, it was acknowledged in court. Two family members — Kaminsky’s mother and sister — had also invested and lost money in the scheme.
In one victim impact statement, one investor had described being pitched Enviro-Can products, which were described to them as having something to do with property in British Columbia and the United States.
Others noted in their statement they had invested in other legitimate investments with Kaminsky but were persuaded to invest in Enviro-Can instead, with one victim told the principal was guaranteed and there were no income tax consequences.
According to the Crown’s submission, the investors’ money was deposited into her personal bank accounts. The Crown also noted the money was largely spent, with a large amount going to personal expenditures and also at the casino, which received a net amount of $664,493 of funds from Kaminsky.
The fraud came to light in 2013 with an anonymous report to the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority. A cease trade order was issued March 12 of that year.
A number of cases were cited with a range of sentences between two and 10 years.
Findlay asked for a sentence of four years, noting that a conditional sentence order was no longer available, and also sought restitution orders for each of the victims.
“We’re hopeful that at least some form of custody will be ordered and also that the restitution order will be made,” Findlay told reporters after the court appearance.
Stooshinoff called for a shorter sentence of between 18 months and two years less a day, citing a number of mitigating factors.
“The prompt willingness to co-operate with police, with the authorities, in bringing forth all of the information relevant to the matter, an early guilty plea, the earliest available opportunity to enter a guilty plea, the fact that my client has no criminal record, the fact that my client has shown remorse and the fact that my client is willing to assist the authorities in getting the matter addressed,” Stooshinoff said in speaking to reporters outside the courthouse.
But returning all of the victims’ money could be an impossible task.
Stooshinoff told the court that Kaminsky has “no ability to pay restitution.” She faces a jail term, suffers from multiple sclerosis and has no prospect of a meaningful income afterwards, although Kaminsky did hold a job for a time at a local hotel and a letter of support from her employer was submitted to the court.
She is also stripped of her licences and faces a lifetime ban from the securities industry, and also faces substantial fines and penalties under the provincial Securities Act.
Kaminsky was allowed to address court directly and expressed her remorse over what happened, saying it was never her intention to hurt anyone by her actions.
“My intent was always to help these people,” Kaminsky told Judge O’Hanlon. “These people were my friends and family and in no way did I ever try to hurt them.”
“I truly, truly am sorry from the bottom of my heart.”
