The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has arrested a convicted fraudster who fled the country to evade a prison sentence and has had him returned to Canada.

William Wallace and his partner Robert Heward were convicted in December 2016 for fraud, unregistered trading and an illegal distribution under the Securities Act. Their convictions resulted from a fraudulent Tanzanian gold mining investment scheme that resulted in approximately $6.8 million in investor losses.

Convicted and sentenced in absentia

The two fled the country before their trial was completed but the pair was convicted and sentenced in absentia. Heward voluntarily returned to Canada in February 2017, was remanded to prison and died shortly afterward. 

After a warrant for Wallace’s arrest was issued, OSC staff obtained an Interpol notice alerting police agencies around the world that he was wanted in Canada. In February 2019, Wallace was arrested upon arrival in the United Arab Emirates.   

Wallace has now been remanded to prison to begin serving his four-year sentence.

“We make every effort to hold people like Mr. Wallace accountable for victimizing Ontario investors,” said Jeff Kehoe, director of enforcement at the OSC. “This includes drawing on our network of law enforcement agencies to track down offenders and return them to Canada to face justice.”