Earl Jones (investment advisor)
Bertram Earl Jones, commonly known as Earl Jones, (born June 24, 1942) 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. After serving only 4 years of his sentence, Jones was released on March 20, 2014.
Early life
Jones was born in Montreal 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.
Ponzi scheme
The Montreal Gazette reported that he promised Bernard Madoff-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.
