Kenneth Fowler sentenced to 3 years for $12.5M mortgage scheme

Several victims who lost money in a scheme orchestrated by Ken Fowler showed up at court to see the convicted fraudster sentenced to three years in prison for his role in a $12.5 million scam.

The TIE Mortgage owner pleaded guilty to three charges earlierthis year that stemfrom illegal activity between 2008 and 2012.

When the Alberta Securities Commission initially laid charges, Fowler was accused of defrauding investors of $27 million between 2002 to 2012.

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Dale Klatt, who lost money in Fowler's investment fraud, says he's suffered emotionally and financially but there are others who were personally destroyed.

"Some of them are in the Mustard Seed and they can't bounce back, they've lost everything, they've lost their homes, they've lost everything," Klatt claims.

CBC News did not independently verifyKlatt's statement.

Defence lawyer Shamsher Kothari and Alberta Securities Commission prosecutor Yasifina Somji made a joint submission before provincial court Judge Mike Dinkel for a three year sentence.

Dinkel addressed the impact these kinds of crimes have on the victims.

"I'm always overwhelmed by how much trust they put into the individual .. and how little that trust is respected," said Dinkel.

'Pure greed'

According to the agreed statement of facts, Fowler used some of the investor money for personal use.

Fowlerbought his wife a diamond ring for $125,000, a Porsche and a house in Palm Springs, one of the defrauded victimspreviously told CBC News

Dinkel called Fowler's motivations "pure greed."

Fowlerwas missing for two years after charges were laid. InJanuary 2016, Mexican immigration officials, acting on information from the Alberta Securities Commission, arrested anddeported him to Canada.

The $12.5 TIE Mortgage fraud was co-orchestrated withDouglas Schneider, who pleaded guilty toSecurities Act charges in 2015 and was sentenced to a year in jail.

With credit for the time he's already spent in custody, Fowler has two years left to serve.

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