An Ontario court has sentenced a resident of the United Kingdom to six years in jail for orchestrating a complex international fraud scheme targeting Ontario investors. 

Justice L. Chapin of the Ontario Court of Justice sentenced Bernard Justin Sevilla to the six-year term after he pleaded guilty to one count of fraud over $5,000 and one count of possession of property obtained by crime contrary to the Criminal Code of Canada. 

Sevilla was arrested in the UK in October 2020 after an extradition request by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). In October 2021, he was extradited to Canada. 

“The sentence imposed … recognizes the significance of Mr. Sevilla’s crimes, which had a devastating impact on Ontario investors, many of whom were elderly or vulnerable,” said Jeff Kehoe, Director of Enforcement at the OSC. “We will continue to devote significant investigative resources to seek out and bring to justice people who choose to harm Ontario investors, wherever they reside.” 

Fraudster invited investors to buy non-existent foreign investments 

The convictions relate to a fraud scheme targeting Ontario investors and co-ordinated by Sevilla while he lived in the UK. The OSC said Sevilla and an accomplice bought airtime on local Ontario radio stations to solicit investments in a foreign exchange scheme called Trans-Atlantic Direct (TAD).  Sevilla, using the alias “Martin Schwartz” as well as his accomplice would present one-hour infomercials and solicit investments. 

Investors were encouraged to register an account on TAD’s website and send their funds to offshore bank accounts in Spain, so TAD could purportedly trade foreign exchange contracts on their behalf. About 100 Ontario investors from communities across the province invested more than $6 million with TAD, but an investigation revealed that no foreign exchange trading ever took place. Invested funds were used by Sevilla and his accomplice to support their lifestyles. 

Many targeted investors were vulnerable 

Many of the investors in the TAD scheme were elderly or vulnerable, and several lost significant amounts of money, said the OSC. In her reasons, the judge described the effect of this scheme on many of the investors as “devastating.” 

“The OSC will continue to use all investigative tools available, in co-operation with our law enforcement partners, to protect Ontario investors and hold the fraudsters who target them accountable,” said Kehoe. “This outcome sends a clear message that those who scheme to defraud Ontario investors cannot hide behind international borders.”