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Calgary man convicted in multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme sentenced to 10 years

Arnold Breitkreutz ordered to pay $3.1 million in restitution
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A police officer and a service dog enter the Calgary Courts Centre on May 17, 2021. A Calgary man who bilked his clients out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi scheme is scheduled to be sentenced today. Arnold Breitkreutz was convicted in June of fraud over five thousand dollars, for what the Crown described as a multimillion-dollar scheme in which investors believed they were putting money into safe first mortgages. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

A Calgary man who bilked 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 was convicted in June of fraud over five thousand dollars for what the Crown described as a multimillion-dollar scheme in which investors believed they were putting money into safe first mortgages.

Court heard the money from his company, Base Financial, was instead loaned to an oil-and-gas promoter and used in a risky oil play in Texas that secured against oil-and-gas leases and equipment.

The Crown had recommended a sentence of between 10 and 12 years to send a message to others who might try a similar scheme.

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.

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