Insurance broker pleads guilty to 15 counts of fraud

Insurance broker pleads guilty to 15 fraud charges

WINNIPEG - A former Great-West-Life insurance broker has pleaded guilty to defrauding 15 former clients out of several hundred thousand dollars.

Gary Palmer, 64, brought his Queen’s Bench trial to a sudden halt this week by deciding to accept responsibility to many of the charges he was fighting. Palmer, who was acting as his own lawyer, admitted to 15 counts of fraud. The Crown agreed to drop nine other related charges.

He remains free on bail and is expected to be sentenced this fall.

Palmer had tried to delay the start of his month-long trial in early May, claiming he wasn’t properly prepared for it. Queen’s Bench Justice Perry Schulman refused to grant an adjournment, saying Palmer has had plenty of time and was only trying to drag out the proceedings.

Palmer was arrested in October 2006 following a lengthy investigation. The Crown says Palmer persuaded numerous clients to make withdrawals from their investments on the premise he would transfer the money into higher-performing funds. He then allegedly took nearly $1.5 million for his own personal use, including vacations, car payments and family expenses.

Palmer was working as an independent agent with the company over the eight years he was accused of swindling the victims, who ranged from wealthy professionals to single parents. The Crown had planned to call many of the former clients as witnesses during the trial, although one man has since died, court was told.

Ex-broker admits to fraud
A former insurance broker on trial accused of swindling clients out of $1.5 million has pleaded guilty to 15 counts of fraud.
Gary Palmer, 64, entered guilty pleas Tuesday morning, more than one week into his scheduled five-week trial.
Palmer, who defended himself in court, remains free on bail pending the completion of a court ordered pre-sentence report. A sentencing date will be set in August.
Palmer began his trial charged with 23 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.
Palmer was working as an independent insurance agent under contract with Great-West Life during the eight-year period he is alleged to have committed the crimes.
Prosecutors allege Palmer was acting as a financial adviser to the victims when he convinced them to withdraw their money from Great-West Life and invest it through his company, J.D. Raleigh.
Palmer then allegedly kept the money for his use, spending it on vacation getaways, payments for his mother’s personal care home, car lease payments and “numerous other personal items,” Crown attorney Steve Johnston told court at the start of Palmer’s trial.
Last month, Palmer filed a last-minute motion seeking to postpone his trial, arguing he did not have a lawyer and was in no position to defend himself.
Justice Perry Schulman rejected the motion, ruling Palmer made “very limited efforts” to hire a lawyer or raise funds to hire a lawyer.

Insurance broker pleads guilty to fraud
A former Winnipeg insurance broker has pleaded guilty to 15 counts of fraud after allegedly spending nearly $1.5 million worth of clients' money.
Gary Palmer, 64, cut short his scheduled five-week trial by making the plea on Tuesday — just a few days into it.
In exchange for his plea to 15 charges, the Crown dropped nine other charges against Palmer, who was representing himself in court.

'He should spend that kind of time behind bars then we'll call it even.'—Greg Downey, who lost more than $30,000

Palmer was independently contracted with Great-West Life Assurance Company when the fraud occurred between 1998 and 2006.
Police alleged that Palmer, presenting himself as a financial advisor, convinced a number of people to make withdrawals from their current investment accounts on the premise of transferring the funds to new products.
He then allegedly deposited the money into his business account and used it for his own personal use.
The scheme came to light when a client received a tax bill for the withdrawals.
Great-West Life conducted an internal investigation then notified the police. Charges were laid in 2006.
Greg Downey, who lost more than $30,000 to Palmer, doesn't ever expect to recover the money he's lost. But he said some of the sting would be alleviated if Downey is sentenced to spend a few years in prison.
"He had at least 10 very good years of going to a cruise every year, going out to his half-a-million-dollar cottage in Lake of the Woods, stuff like I'm never going to be able to afford to do," said Downey.
"So he should spend that kind of time behind bars then we'll call it even."
The maximum penalty Palmer faces is 14 years behind bars. He'll be sentenced in August.

I do not believe this man should be sentenced to prison. That would serve no purpose as prison should always be a last resort and only reserved for those who truly pose a danger to society. This man should be sentenced to a conditional sentence with community service work, restitution to the victims and be required to prepare a series of speeches for insurance companies about the consequences of fraud. He should also lose his job as an insurance broker. This man's assets should be sold and the money should be given to his victims.  

Insurance broker acts as his own lawyer in fraud case

Insurance broker acts as own lawyer in theft case

A former Great-West-Life insurance broker is defending himself on allegations he stole more than $1.5 million from former clients.

Gary Palmer, 64, began his trial Monday by acting as his own lawyer. He tried to delay his case last week, claiming he wasn’t properly prepared for the month-long case. Queen’s Bench Justice Perry Schulman refused to grant an adjournment, saying Palmer has had plenty of time and is only trying to drag out the proceedings.

Palmer was arrested in October 2006 following a lengthy investigation. He has pleaded not guilty to 23 counts of fraud and one charge of money laundering.

The Crown says Palmer persuaded 25 of his clients to make withdrawals from their investments on the premise he would transfer the money into higher-performing funds. He then allegedly took the money for his own personal use, including vacations, car payments and family expenses.

Palmer was working as an indepenent agent with the company over the eight years he is allegedly to have swindled the victims, who ranged from wealhy professionals to single parents. The Crown plans to call many of the former clients as witnesses during the trial, although one man has since passed away, court was told.
Palmer is also facing numerous civil lawsuits which remain before the courts.

This article is biased as it only states what the Crown's allegations are. I would like to know what Palmer's claims and arguments are and also, any mitigating factors in his life, such as a need for money.

Former insurance broker accused of $1.5 million fraud, will go to trial

Alleged swindler's trial to go ahead

Ready or not, a former insurance broker accused of swindling clients out of $1.5 million is going to stand trial next week, a judge has ordered.

Gary Palmer, 64, filed a last-minute motion last week seeking to postpone his five-week fraud trial, arguing he did not have a lawyer and was in no position to defend himself.

Palmer was arrested in October 2006 following a lengthy police investigation.

Palmer made “very limited efforts” to hire a lawyer or raise funds to hire a lawyer, Justice Perry Schulman said Wednesday.

“It’s hard to believe ... that he has any serious interest in raising funds to secure counsel,” Schulman said.

Adjourning the trial would likely delay it for at least a year and inconvenience 30 witnesses, Schulman said, noting one witness has died since Palmer was arrested.

Palmer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 23 counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.

Palmer was working as an independent insurance agent under contract with Great-West Life during the eight-year period he is alleged to have committed the crimes.

Prosecutors allege Palmer was acting as a financial adviser to the victims when he convinced them to withdraw their money from Great-West Life and invest it through his company, J.D. Raleigh.

Palmer then allegedly kept the money for his use, spending it on vacation getaways, payments for his mother’s personal care home, car lease payments and “numerous other personal items,” said Crown attorney Steve Johnston.

“Never once was the money actually invested on his client’s behalf,” Johnston told court Wednesday.

The trial will resume Monday with testimony from a Great-West Life investigator.

Guilty of fraud for breast job

Fraud for boob job

Woman thought she'd like "herself more"

A 29-year-old Winnipeg woman carries the shame of cheating her boss wherever she goes.

The former receptionist stole $10,000 from her chiropractor boss and spent half of it on “personal improvements,” a court heard Thursday. More specifically — a boob job.

“She stole money to have a breast augmentation in her belief that she would like herself more,” states a pre-sentence report prepared for court. “Now she reflects that her breasts are a daily reminder of the poor choice she made.”

The woman pleaded guilty to one count each of fraud over $5,000 and fraud under $5,000. Judge Lynn Stannard sentenced the aspiring medical student to two years house arrest.

Between November 2006 and January 2007, while employed at a chiropractor’s office, the woman forged seven cheques in her name, totalling $10,000. What she didn’t spend on her breasts she “squandered” on food and drink for her friends and boyfriend.

“She now recognizes that she made many poor choices in her attempt to raise her self-esteem and people-please,” says the pre-sentence report.

The woman’s boss fired her upon learning of the fraud but held off calling police, believing her claim that she had taken out a bank loan to repay him. The chiropractor called police when he learned her bank account was empty and had been closed for two weeks.

“You must have been very desperate to write a $10,000 cheque on an account that was closed,” Stannard said. “You weren’t stealing to feed six kids at home ... It was for lavish lifestyle things that, quite frankly, you have to earn the right to have.”

In June 2009, while working for a local trucking firm, the woman stole another cheque worth $1,000.

The woman claimed her new boyfriend at the time was abusive and she “felt pressured to live a lavish lifestyle,” said the pre-sentence report.

“She felt a constant pressure to provide extra income to avoid excessive arguments that would result in her being physically abused,” the report said.

Fraudster will not being going to prison

Fraudster avoid prison term 

- A convicted fraud artist now in witness protection won’t be going to prison for his crime.

- Instead, the 26-year-old former H & R Block manager will be allowed to serve a two-year conditional sentence in the community.

- The man has co-operated with police on an unrelated criminal matter and is now living at an undisclosed location outside Manitoba.

- Justice Karen Simonsen said she accepted evidence that the man’s life would be in jeopardy if he was sentenced to real prison time.

- “Given (his) involvement in the witness protection program, it is apparent that he has provided information to the police to assist in either the apprehension or prosecution of others, and in so doing has put himself at considerable risk,” she said.

- Winnipeg police arrested the man in April 2006 after he fraudulently processed inflated tax returns worth $15,000. The money was withdrawn from bank machines using company issued debit cards.

- The man pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000.

He served a prison sentence for a string of break and enters prior to being hired by H & R Block. Court heard he was initially hired as a receptionist and then promoted to manager when the previous manager was fired.

At a sentencing hearing Monday, prosecutor Lisa Cupples said had the matter gone to trial the Crown would have had a difficult time proving the man had “exclusive opportunity” to commit the fraud.

“It’s an extremely circumstantial case that would have taken a lot of trial time to prove,” she said.

An investigation could not determine who withdrew the money or who spent it, Cupples said.

I think this sentence is the right decision considering that his life might be in danger if sent to prison, because he is in the witness protection program on another unrelated matter. I dont think prison is necessary because he is not dangerous or violent or a risk to the safety of the public. 

Man who collected child rape videos gets 6 mos. prison and 18 mos. conditional sentence

Man collected child rape videos

- A man who collected videos that depicted small crying children being raped was sentenced to six months in jail, along with an 18-month conditional sentence.

- However, when given credit for the six months he already served in prison, Lucas Gannon was released to serve out the rest of his sentence in the community, and he will be staying at a dorm at the Salvation Army.

- In a passionate apology to the court, Gannon, 26, of Springwater Township, said he couldn’t stop himself from viewing child pornography.

- “I need help,” Gannon admitted, after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography as well as fraud and extortion. 

- He was also placed on three years of probation where he must seek treatment and stay away from children under 16.

- Court heard about his bizarre extortion scheme where Gannon posed as a buff firefighter and lured an adult woman into falling in love with him over the Internet. He threatened to post her sexy photographs if she didn’t send him more and more explicit sexual photos and videos of herself.

- The woman went to police, who searched his residence, and found dozens of videos and photos of child pornography on his computer as well as in his photo album. He was arrested May 14, 2009.

- The videos contained clips of small, naked children urinating or being raped or forced to perform oral sex.

- “Most disturbing is one clip of a teddy bear sitting on a penis while the child is performing oral sex,” said Justice Nancy Dawson as she described the content.

- “I knew it was wrong, but I couldn’t stop,” said Gannon, standing in the prisoner’s box with handcuffs.

- “Somehow it got to be younger and younger children. I couldn’t stop.”

- Gannon admitted to buying children’s underwear to satisfy his urges, but he insisted he did not take the child pornography any further than viewing it.

- “But I know that by viewing it I was harming that child all over again.”

- Months after Gannon was arrested, he was diagnosed with leukemia while in jail and he now needs intensive treatment.

- “Maybe I deserve this after what I’ve done,” Gannon told the judge. “But what I’m trying to do is learn about it and get help so that it never happens again.” 

I believe this man when he says that he is trying to get help for his problem that he couldn't stop. I feel that a conditional sentence and probation are appropriate, because he needs medical help for his leukemia and in the community, he can receive counseling and treatment for his pornography addiction.  

A community sanction urged for man guilty of fraud

House arrest urged for fraudster 

- A former H & R Block manager guilty of fraud is urging a judge to sentence him to house arrest, fearing his life will be in danger if he is sent to jail.

- The 26-year-old man is currently in the witness protection program in connection with an unrelated matter and living at an undisclosed location out of province.

- His lawyer said there are significant safety issues. 

- Two city police officers accompanied the man in court. Court heard he was relocated for his own protection. Court was provided no details on what case brought the man into witness protection.

- “There are a number of serious concerns ... of a serious enough nature he would be at risk in this jurisdiction,” the man’s witness protection officer told court.

- Winnipeg police arrested the man in April 2006 after he fraudulently processed inflated tax returns worth $15,000. The money was withdrawn from bank machines using company issued debit cards.

- The man pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000.

- The man served a prison sentence for a string of break and enters prior to being hired by H & R Block. Court heard he was initially hired as a receptionist and then promoted to manager when the previous manager was fired.

- Prosecutor Lisa Cupples said the Crown would have had a difficult time proving the man had “exclusive opportunity” to commit the fraud had the matter gone to trial.

- She said it's an extremely circumstantial case that would take a lot of time to prove. 

- An investigation could not determine who withdrew the money or who spent it

- The man has stayed out of trouble since moving away from “negative influences.” Defence said the man is working and going to school part-time “with hopes of getting a degree in a certain field in the future.”

- If ordered to serve his sentence in jail the man would likely have to serve it all in solitary confinement, Defence said.

- The Judge reserved her decision. 

I agree with the Defence in that this man should not be sentenced to prison, as he has already served time, would be in danger because he is in the witness protection program and has been staying out of trouble, working and going to school. I feel he should be sentenced to probation with conditions.