In 2009 a few Christians wrote me, alerting me to possible investment fraud, involving a guy from their former church named Daniel P. Reeve.
Investors who have had the misfortune of knowing Daniel P. Reeve who have started to talk to each other by email believe between them they’ve lost 4 million dollars. I wonder if they are the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
The loss to investors may be as high as 30 million dollars. What struck me at the time was how tenacious and persistant hurting investors were in seeking justice. Losses for some were staggering, investors gathered in a forum at Red Flag Deals and started sounding the alarm in 2007. It is now 2012 and charges have finally been laid:
After a two-year investigation, victims expressed relief on Friday when charges were laid in what could easily be the biggest fraud case in Waterloo Region’s history.
Former financial adviser Daniel P. Reeve, who ran the now-closed Millionaire in You Wealth Institute in Waterloo, DPR Financial in Cambridge and related companies in Waterloo Region, has been charged in connection with a fraud that is estimated at $30 million and involved 175 potential victims between 2006 and 2009.
That may not be all. Sgt. Rob Cowan of the Waterloo Regional Police fraud branch said the investigation is ongoing. Other arrests could be made in the case, and there could be other losses.
Despite a cease and desist in 2009, a quick internet search indicated there was no compliance on the part of Mr. Reeve.
In May The Financial Services Commission of Ontario put out a cease and desist order against Daniel P. Reeve. Sounds good. My question is where’s the beef?
A piece of paper issued in May and made permanent in June hasn’t stopped Reeve.
Closure of offices and hasn’t stopped him. An active criminal investigation publicly announced in June hasn’t stopped him. Civil lawsuits, creditors, angry former investors, millions of dollars…
The victims range from retired, elderly persons to business people and professionals. Some were people who Reeve had attended church with. Others were people who met him when he was an independent contractor with limited authorization to sell insurance-related investment products such as segregated funds on behalf of companies such as Manulife.
Reeve’s licence to sell insurance-related investment products expired in 2007 and was not renewed. But in 2009, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario filed a “cease and desist order” against Reeve, saying he contravened the Loan and Trust Corporation Act by running a loan or trust corporation while unregistered.
The order, which was never appealed, alleged that Reeve unlawfully obtained deposits totalling $950,000 between June, 2008 and the middle of April, 2009.
Reeve has been charged with fraud and theft over five thousand dollars.
While civil suits have been filed (with one receiving an award of one million dollars) it is unlikely any investors will see any return on their losses.
Reeve will appear in court in Kitchener Ontario Monday for a bail hearing.