Calgary man sentenced to 10 years in multi-million dollar ponzi scheme
Posted Aug 19, 2022 2:01 pm.
Last Updated Aug 19, 2022 3:53 pm.
CALGARY – A Calgary man who cheated his clients out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for what the judge called a deliberate and large-scale fraud.
Arnold Breitkreutz, 74, was convicted in June of fraud over $5,000 for what the Crown says was a multi-million dollar scheme dating to 2014 and 2015. Investors believed they were putting money into safe first mortgages.
Court heart the money from his company, Base Financial, was instead loaned to an energy industry promoter and used in a risky oil play in Texas that was secured against oil and gas leases and equipment.
The Crown says 107 people were defrauded of their money. They also recommended a sentence between 10 and 12 years to send a message to other people who might try a similar scheme.
The defence recommended a sentence of five to eight years.
Justice Colin Feasby says Breitkreutz’s crime violated the trust of many of his clients, who felt a profound sense of betrayal.
He also ordered Breitkreutz to pay $3.1 million in restitution.
With files from Mark Strashok
