Canada: 2 Toronto scammers sentenced

[Miyuki]

2 Toronto scammers sentenced

Jun. 14, 2006. 10:13 AM
Peter Small
Courts Bureau, TORONTO STAR

Two Toronto businessmen who ran a sophisticated Nigerian letter scam from a local boiler room have been sent to prison for defrauding hundreds of victims worldwide.

Anthony Drakes and Richard Brewster wrote people unsolicited letters purporting to be from either a senior Nigerian civil servant, government representative, or successful businessman advising them of a business opportunity.

The offer involved the supposed transfer of millions of dollars out of Nigeria from an over-billed government or company contract into the victim's account.

But before the victims could get the money, they were asked to pay tens of thousands of dollars in fictional transaction or advance payment fees.

They went from frustration to despair as they were repeatedly asked for more money, (before) they realized they had been duped,・Justice Gloria Epstein said Tuesday.

The Superior Court judge sentenced Drakes, a 39-year-old married father of three, to five years in prison.

In January she convicted him of attempted fraud, money laundering and defrauding four Americans, including one 92-year-old man from the Buffalo area, and many others of at least $850,000 (U.S.).

She sentenced Brewster, 38, to four years in prison for attempted fraud, money laundering and defrauding two Americans and a host of other unnamed investors of at least $550,000 (U.S.).

Although the victims thought they were dealing with companies in Detroit, Chicago and New York, they were in fact dealing with the two fraudsters operating from their boiler room situated in a condo on Dean Park Rd., near Meadowvale Rd. and Sheppard Ave. E.

Drakes and Brewster used aliases, voice alteration devices, plus telephone- and fax-forwarded numbers to convince their dupes they were speaking to several representatives in various cities.

Defence lawyers Gregory Lafontaine, representing Drakes, and Michael Lacy, representing Brewster, had noted that their clients have no previous criminal record and suggested sentences to be served in the community - essentially house arrest.

Crown prosecutors Feroza Bhabha and Susan Magotiaux had suggested five to six years in prison for Drakes and four to five for Brewster.

Although Epstein found that three of the victims greedily believed they were participating in a scheme to defraud the Nigerian government, she said that cannot justify the fraud. The victims have suffered beyond measure, she said. One victim lost the family home, and another was unable to pay for his children's college education, she said.

The fraudsters have not expressed any remorse and the money has not been recovered, the judge said.

They never had any intention to return anything of value to their prey,・she said.

Drakes and Brewster nodded to a few supporters in the courtroom as they were led away in handcuffs.

[Gentle Giant]

Slick scammers jailed
Cowardly 'predators' ran Nigerian letter scheme
By Ian McDougall, Courts Bureau, Toronto Sun

Two slick, sophisticated fraud artists were handed prison terms yesterday for their role in the type of international scam that has become known as a "Nigerian letter."

Richard Brewster, 38, and Anthony Drakes, 39, were both convicted of fraud and money laundering in January. They were sentenced yesterday by Justice Gloria Epstein.

Drakes was sentenced to five years on five counts of fraud, one count of attempted fraud and money laundering.

Drakes hands were cuffed behind his well-cut suit. With a wink to a friend in the public gallery, Drakes was led by guards to the holding cells at 361 University Ave.

Brewster was sentenced to four years for three counts of fraud, one attempted fraud and money laundering.

"Such cowardly conduct strikes at the core values of our society," Epstein said, labelling the pair "predators."

Epstein said the men were active participants in an international scheme that left hundreds of victims in financial trouble.

One of their victims was bilked out of $850,000, she said. Others lost their home because they were unable to make mortgage payments.

ADVANCED-FEE FRAUD
The operation was a sophisticated version of an advanced-fee fraud in which victims are tricked into paying vast sums of money with the phony promise of a bigger return.

"Prospective victims got correspondence purporting to be from a Nigerian civil servant, government representative or businessman," Epstein said.

The pitch was a transfer of a large sum of money, sometimes reaching $40 million US, to the victim's bank account. But before the cash was transferred, the victim was told, they would have to pay a variety of bogus fees.

To thwart suspicion, the pair used voice-masking technology for phones, shell companies and a fake letterhead.

A police raid on a condo at 10 Dean Park on July 16, 1999, uncovered thousands of documents, 10 telephones and several fax machines, Epstein said in her written reasons for judgment, which was filed on Jan. 18.

Epstein described the scam as a "sophisticated, complex, large-scale major fraud that transcended international boundaries."

Neither man had a previous criminal record.