A Kemptville financial planner faces jail time or house arrest a jury found him guilty on Friday of most fraud charges brought against him. However, Bruce Elmore also was rendered a mistrial on one of the charges.
"I don't feel I got a fair trial," said Elmore, 61, of the 10-week proceeding examining accusations of him taking $3 million from 40 of his investors, mostly elderly clients. He represented himself and said he is considering an appeal, saying he never meant to run a Ponzi scheme and had put too much faith into the trustee running his company.
The charges relate to his former company, Elmore Financial Services, about transactions that took place between 1997 and 2002.
Though many of his alleged victims died before the trial took place, some that remain say they gave him money to invest in Guaranteed Investment Certificates -- which are supposed to return investors at least 100 per cent of the money they put in.
Instead, Elmore was accused of putting their money into real-estate and high-tech stocks.
Investors say they were paid dividends until Elmore filed for bankruptcy in 2002, shortly after the tech industry in Eastern Ontario collapsed.
Sentencing will take place during the last week of June or the first week of July, with the one count of mistrial being adjourned until May 14. Elmore may not have to attend the latter proceeding.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Stefan Keyes
