$400M Ponzi scheme trial gets underway in Calgary

A trial has begun into an alleged Ponzi scheme that investigators say bilked investors around the world out of a total of $400 million.

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Gary Sorenson and Milowe Brost pleaded not guilty in a Calgary courtroom to two charges each of fraud and theft.

Brost alone faces a fifth charge of money laundering, to which he also pleaded not guilty.

The alleged scheme is being called one of the largest of its kind in Canadian history.

Police allege thousands of investors in Canada, the United States and overseas were swindled between 1999 and December 2008.

The two defendants are being represented by different lawyers.

Both men sat side by side with their eyes downcast as Justice Robert Hall instructed the 13-member jury before the Crown began with its opening statements.

The trial is expected to last about six months.

The Alberta Securities Commission foundBrost, Sorenson and DennisMorice guilty oforchestrating an elaborate Ponzi scheme in 2012 and fined them $54 million.