For victims like Dieter Kueller, it's the end of an eight-year battle to bring Bruce Elmore to justice. The unlicensed financial advisor bilked investors out of a total of $3 million; he'll now spend up to six years in prison.
Still, in his final statement before sentencing, Elmore called his victims "friends."
Emotional, he said, "I am sad that they would talk so badly of me," and about his actions, "I see that it was wrong, but it was not intentional."
Peter and Helen Bunn invested a quarter of a million dollars with Elmore. They thought it was going towards safe GICs, insured by the bank. Instead, he lost it all in the stock market.
"Mr. Elmore must have a different definition of frienship from what I do," said Peter Bunn. "I could never call someone a friend and do to them what Mr. Elmore did to us."
Questions about sincerity
The judge also questioned Elmore's sincerity: "I have serious doubts if you are genuinely remorseful."
She handed Elmore a six-year sentence. She also ordered him to pay back every penny he stole from victims. They said they know that's probably not going to happen.
"I don't think we'll ever recuperate the loss," said Helen Bunn. "But it's not just the loss of the money; it's all of the other things."
Elmore broke down in tears after the sentence, hugging family members before being taken to jail.
The order of restitution will force the sale of Elmore's cottage, investment savings and any unaccounted funds.
If any new money should come his way, that also will have to go straight to his victims.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua
